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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’
“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore—cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.”
“They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn and cry out:”
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’”
“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:”
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’”
“Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”
Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said:
“With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. 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. The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell, all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”
Revelation 18:9-24
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The brutal end to Babylon the Great, the female figure we read about in detail within the text of Revelation, chapter 17, brought with it mixed emotions as we study Revelation 18.
In the opening three verses of the chapter, we find a great rejoicing in Heaven over the loss of such utter wickedness. It was a celebration over the demise of the Mother of Prostitutes who had been a “dwelling for demons” and a haunt for every unclean spirit, unclean bird, and unclean and detestable animal. She would no longer make the nations “drunk” from “the maddening wine of her adulteries” and “merchants of the earth” would stop growing “rich from her excessive luxuries”.
In regard to these latter two entities, the nations and the merchants of the world, we see a very different response to the fall of the malevolent prostitute, one of deep lament. Look again at these verses from Revelation, chapter 18:
“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’
“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore—cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.”
“They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn and cry out:”
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’”
“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:”
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’”
“Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.” Vv. 9-20
This passage shows us just how far gone the world will be at the time of the Great Tribulation for major players in both government and commerce were immersed in the gains they experienced from one who was nothing more that evil personified, one who the scriptures tell us was drunk from the blood she caused to be shed by Christian believers (17:6).
First, we read where the “kings of the earth” chose to “weep and mourn over her”, the woman they had “committed adultery with”. No longer would they be able to share in “her luxury” and “terrified at her torment”, they will choose to “stand far off and cry”.
Second, we have the “merchants of the earth” who also “will weep and mourn over her” because they now had “no one” to purchase “their cargoes anymore”, cargoes which the scriptures tell us were composed of “gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves”. We read their words of sorrow in verses 14 and 15:
"The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered”.
The merchants’ source of wealth was “brought to ruin” and they, like the kings, stood “far off” and were “terrified at her torment”.
Finally, we read about “every sea captain” that traveled “by ship” and earned “their living from the sea”. Like the merchants, they had become “rich through” the prostitute’s wealth and as they too stood “far off”, they wept and mourned, even going as far to “throw dust on their heads”.
In all three of these cases, we should see a common sadness over the loss of evil and note that neither the kings, merchants, nor sea captains were saddened over the person, the mother of prostitutes herself. Rather, they were upset over the material things they had lost, predominantly their prestige and wealth. What was absent was any repentance or remorse over committing adulteries with the wicked prostitute in plain sight of the God they should have pledged allegiance to. This reminds us of the teaching of Jesus during His Sermon on the Mount when He proclaimed that a person can’t serve God and money. They have to choose who their master would be and all the parties in today’s passage chose worldly wealth and riches over the One who could make them legitimately affluent, both physically and spiritually.
Today, we still find people lamenting over the loss of evil, the most recent example being the worshiping of Hamas terrorists who slaughtered 1,200 Israelite people and took another 240 hostage. Here in the United States, there were anti-Semitic protests breaking out all over the country, mostly on college campuses, where thousands and thousands of people chose the side of wickedness and celebrated it. It was both saddening and sickening at the same time.
All this serves to remind all Christian believers that we live in a very fallen world, and it has been that way since the great fall in Eden’s Garden. Thankfully, this book we are immersed in, the Book of Revelation, shows us that this foolish celebration of depravity and immorality will one day come to an end and all who chose to side with evil, whether the kings or merchants or sea captains in today’s passage, or anyone else for that matter, will be committed to the eternal darkness and torment of Hell with Satan as a roommate.
And on that day, there will be absolutely no lamenting over evil. Only rejoicing over the everlasting victory of righteousness and the advent of a new beginning for all who believed in Christ Jesus, a new beginning where sin and evil will abide no more
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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