Revelation 18

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In today’s chapter of Revelation, we are learning about another event in the end times. In chapter 17, Babylon represented spiritual or religious corruption. In this chapter, John switches gears a little bit. Here, he uses Babylon to symbolize an economic and political entity. It could also represent a physical and literal city. When they talk about the fall, many believe the timeline would be toward the end of the tribulation. More than likely, it is a part of the bowl judgments described in chapter 16. At the beginning of this chapter, John hears an angel announcing the fall of Babylon in a mighty voice. This angel describes how every nation had participated in “her adulteries.” It also shares how “merchants of the Earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries” (Revelation 18:2-3). This was an economic and political center on a worldwide level. Babylon needed to fall because its existence was all about evil and encouraging others to do the same. They built their wealth through the exploitation of others. They knew what would sell: power, money, and every other sinful desire you can imagine. Using this as their business strategy, they targeted the sinful desires of people and became very wealthy. Their hearts were hardened as they began to elevate their financial status at the expense of other people. They were idolatrous. Worshipping other gods, other things, rather than the one true God. Does this sound a little familiar? I think we can all agree that this sounds a lot like our current world economy. So what are believers to do in this evil Babylon? Verses 4-5 say, “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues, for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.” We are to separate from her. We are to keep ourselves from engaging in her evil practices. We are to live a life of service and generosity; one that looks like Jesus. When it happens, all types of people will mourn this destruction. The political leaders will mourn because they want to avoid the same destruction. Babylon was such a massive power and it was destroyed in one swift moment. Another more obvious group that will mourn is the economic leaders of the time. Verses 11-13 mention some of the most valuable commodities in the world. They’re now all destroyed and so is the revenue that went with them. Several times throughout the chapter, it talks about how this destruction happened in “one hour.” These leaders did not want their power and wealth to come to an end so quickly But what are God’s people going to do? Rejoice! Not that we will be rejoicing at the destruction of people but that God’s justice and righteousness will have prevailed. Everything that tries to stop God’s purposes will eventually be destroyed. This is such a hope-filled statement because we know that we can be confident in our future. We need to remember that we should not be tied to the evil economic systems of the world. We should not put our hope in wealth or power. Getting as many possessions as possible and having a comfortable life should not be the primary focus of our lives. To make sure that we keep living a life of generosity, we have to make sure that we are guarding against greed. As we continue to look forward to the return of the Lord, let’s live lives full of generosity and service!