1After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendour. 2He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal. 3For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her. Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich.”
Revelation 18:1-3
4Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her. 5For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds. 6Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her. 7She glorified herself and lived in luxury, so match it now with torment and sorrow. She boasted in her heart, ‘I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn.’
8Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—death and mourning and famine. She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.” 9And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains. 10They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.” 11The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.
12She bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; things made of fragrant thyine wood, ivory goods, and objects made of expensive wood; and bronze, iron, and marble. 13She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, wagons, and bodies—that is, human slaves. 14“The fancy things you loved so much are gone,” they cry. “All your luxuries and splendour are gone forever, never to be yours again.” 15The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out, 16“How terrible, how terrible for that great city! She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!” And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance. 18They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, “Where is there another city as great as this?” 19And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! The shipowners became wealthy by transporting her great wealth on the seas. In a single moment it is all gone.”
Revelation 18:4-19
20Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes. 21Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, “Just like this, the great city Babylon will be thrown down with violence and will never be found again. 22The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets will never be heard in you again. No craftsmen and no trades will ever be found in you again. The sound of the mill will never be heard in you again. 23The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The happy voices of brides and grooms will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the greatest in the world, and you deceived the nations with your sorceries. 24In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”
Revelation 18:20-24
This eighteenth chapter of Revelation is fascinating. The language is vivid, confronting and carefully chosen. Having soaked myself in this text for the last three weeks I have been struck by the nature of what John recorded for us all. Not only are the words inspired but the layout and structure is pregnant with meaning. I suspect we may spend quite a bit of time on this Chapter, far more than I first imagined. I never know what I am going to find when I begin digging; the Word of God never ceases to amaze me.
Don’t lose sight of where I have left you after the previous Gem. The similarities continue but the differences in this chapter stand out. We have left behind the battles and death and dying for a moment. The focus of this chapter I am sure is clear to you. This chapter is summed up in the pattern of the Law, the Prophets expressed in the passages I left with you at the end of Gem 2352.
Namely:
- Exodus 22:21-27
- Amos 2:6-7
- Micah 6:8
I trust these verses have the same effect on you as they do on me. I read the complete text in this chapter in the light of these verses. I will develop that theme which I believe is what John was told via the visions and the voices. Before we look into the details I would like to lay before you what I believe to be the overall layout and structure. I find it fascinating; either John gained this structure through what he was shown and told or he gleaned it from his knowledge of the writings of the prophets.
I believe it is unquestionable that John modelled this chapter on the prophetic doom songs of the Old Testament prophets. Look firstly at Ezekiel 26-28 and Isaiah 23:5-18 and you will see a direct parallel. The prophetic laments predict the doom of the unrighteous people of Babylon, Tyre, Nineveh and Rome. In fact many cities or nations of the Ancient Near East fit the archetype. You will come across quotes and phrases that sound familiar. Indeed they are because they are phrases and elements lifted straight from mouths of the prophets. There are numerous such similarities.
- Babylon is fallen. [Isa 21:9; Jer 51:41]
- Obsession with luxury [Isa 2:7, 8; 47:8 Amos 3:12,15]
- I will never be a widow [Isa 47:8]
- her punishment reaches heaven [Jer 51:9]
- Come out from her, abandon her. [Jer 51:9, 45]
- Double penalty [Ex 22:9, Jer 16:18, Prov 20:23]
Trouble won’t come to us, we are secure in our ivory towers, untouched by disaster and famine. It is ironic that Rome was called “the eternal city”; the inference being ‘this city will last forever’. Contrast this with the repeated refrain of the swiftness of the demise of all of these great cities. It was unimaginable that such a city as Babylon the Great, the site of such magnificence could ever come to an end. The same attitude was present in Jerusalem, Rome in John’s time and all modern cities today. Look at what we have built; nothing can touch us now! The recurring theme of this chapter is the prelude to the inevitable approaching doom. The life style of the obsession with riches and luxury leads inexorably to the downfall of all such kingdoms. Especially so when such luxury is built on injustice and the oppression of the masses, the inequality of the distribution of wealth and the uncaring attitude toward the poor and oppressed. Does all this sound familiar? Oh yes!
Up until this moment I have not yet addressed Kevin’s question in the Comments Section of Gem 2351. Of course many have seen this analogy over the centuries. Beware of the flagrant obsession with wealth at the expense of the poor. I remember a preacher in the 70’s saying “As God judged Sodom and Gomorrah then He must surely have to judge many cities in America.” The three passages I left with you at the end of the previous Gem hold the key. The day of reckoning is coming. Like Babylon, Tyre, Nineveh, Rome before them, all the great cities of the world which flagrantly ignore the deceit of riches will come to a sudden end. I am gaining the impression that God’s inaction over these practices has a limit. When that limit is reached the end comes quickly.
- “In a single day” [18:8]
- “in a single moment” [18:10]
- “in a single moment” [18:17]
- “In a single moment it is all gone.” [18:19]
Are we getting the message? Now let’s step back to take in the big picture before we examine the details. This is a technique I learned from my Greek Prof, Dr Basil Brown. On reading this chapter over and over I notice some important things. The layout and structure of this chapter adds deeper meaning. I have also been taught to pay careful attention to the repetitions in addition to the way a passage is structured. This chapter is very poetic, or we could say it’s the lyrics of a song. Well that fits doesn’t it if John has taken his lead from the prophetic doom songs. We would expect to see poetic form and abundant repetition. Notice the chapter opens with angelic pronouncements made from heaven. Pay careful attention to what happens after that and take note of the order and the repetitions.
Angel One: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!
- For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality.
- Because of her desires for extravagant luxury,
- The kings of the world have committed adultery with her.
- the merchants of the world have grown rich.”
Angel Two:
- “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her.
- For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds.
- Do to her as she has done to others.
- Double her penalty for all her evil deeds.
- She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her.
- She glorified herself and lived in luxury, so match it now with torment and sorrow.
The Queen of the City:
- She boasted in her heart,
- ‘I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn.’
- Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—death and mourning and famine.
- She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”
The Kings of the World:
- who committed adultery with her
- and enjoyed her great luxury
- will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains.
- They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment.
- [They] the Kings will cry out,
- “How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.”
The Merchants of the World:
will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.
- She bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls;
- fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth;
- things made of fragrant thyine wood, ivory goods, and objects made of expensive wood;
- and bronze, iron, and marble.
- She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense,
- wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat,
- cattle, sheep, horses, wagons, and bodies—that is, human slaves.
“The fancy things you loved so much are gone,”
- The Merchants cry.
- The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance,
- terrified by her great torment.
- The Merchants will weep and cry out,
- “All your luxuries and splendour are gone forever, never to be yours again.”
- “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!”
All the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews:
- will stand at a distance.
- They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend,
- And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief.
And they will cry out,
- “Where is there another city as great as this?”
- “How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
- The shipowners became wealthy by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
- In a single moment it is all gone.”
Take your time now to work your way through the pattern and structure of this passage. I will point out the features I observed in the following Gem after you have had some time to see what you can see. It is quite remarkable how John has arranged this chapter. Pick out the repetitions in the passage and then put them together with the pattern that emerges.
To see and understand the big picture, you’ve got to meet the Master Painter.
Patrick Wisely
Don’t expect to get confirmation from people around you on what God is doing in you. They can’t see the big picture as clearly as God does.
Ian
You can’t break away from a problem until you break the patterns in your life that created it. When change is necessary, not to change is destructive.
A R Bernard
Few of us perfect things after only one iteration; most of us need multiple repetitions to “get it”. For confirmation read the book of Judges and Revelation.
Ian
More Moses in the glory and the resurrection of Jesus Christ everything I read about you, sir is amazing. Please keep sending me words of power.
Hi Charlene, Thanks for the vote of confidence. As I spend time going deep into a biblical book I find all sorts of amazing things. My Greek Prof used to say every word in the biblical text is important, not one word is a throwaway. Study it. Gordon Fee, from whom I had the privilege of learning about sense units taught me the bigger picture is way more connected than ever we could imagine. It is all true. Hence the things that I find are mind blowing. Glad they blow you away too. Yes of course as long as you are signed up for Gems and Nuggets you will keep receiving the fruit of what I find. I don’t know why some people sign up one week and then unsubscribe a few days later. Clearly they haven’t really taken in all the treasures that are there for them. I could point out the treasures but I prefer to let people discover them for themselves. That’s the way I work, because my Greek Prof, Dr Basil Brown taught me “The best teachers show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.”