Journey Through The Bible
 Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 4-6
 New Testament Reading: Revelation 18

They will stand far off in fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in a single hour your judgment has come. The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any longer (Revelation 18:10-11).

Babylon is sometimes used in scripture as the symbol of humanity’s rebellion against God, as we saw in chapter 17. But it also was an ancient city and a powerful empire. In chapter 18, Babylon represents the world economic and political system of the beast.

John witnessed another angel with great authority coming down from heaven, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor (v1). This angel with a mighty voice, pronounces the fall of Babylon. The loudest weeping and mourning come from the merchants who sell everything from fine cloth, jewelry, objects of wood and metal, spices and food, cattle, and even human slaves.

It is striking to observe the difference between the pronouncing angel and the merchants. The angel is bold and glorious while the merchants shrink in terror they stand far off in fear of her torment. The angel observes the immorality and demonic activity of Babylon while the merchants mourn material things they weep because no one buys their cargo any longer. The angel rejoices in God’s righteous judgment, but the merchants just see lost business.

This judgment has come because the Babylonian system has polluted the whole world. The system intoxicates the people of the world with all the riches and pleasures it offered. The Apostle Paul said of these people; But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power (2 Tim 3:1-5).

It is easy to become fascinated by the things the world offers. But its subtle influence never fully satisfies our earthly desires and we are left wanting more and more. The love of pleasures and possessions leads us away from God’s priorities of people and moral character. Our treasure and our hearts both need to be aligned with the Lord.

The Apostle John wrote; Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever (1 John 2:15-17).

Jesus said; But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt 6:20-21).