AM Bible Study Group; October 28, 2009
Revelation 18:9-20
me: This passage describes the mourning that will characterize the unbelieving world at the destruction of the great ‘harlot’ city Babylon..
Our passage continues the Bible’s astonishing look at the destruction of the future city Babylon—the center-point of the philosophical, materialistic, political and religious system of the Antichrist. This passage, in particular, describes the mourning that the world will make over the sudden and complete destruction of this city in judgment. This passage has much in common with the description of the destruction of the ancient city of Tyre in Ezekiel 27:12-36; and perhaps the destruction of that ancient city by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar was meant to prefigure the even greater destruction of this even greater city.
There are four distinct groups mentioned in this morning’s passage. The first is the kings of the earth (vv. 9-10), then the merchants (vv. 11-17a), then the sea-tradesmen (vv. 17b-19), and finally the redeemed (v. 20). Of the first three, several common elements can be detected in the description of their mourning over the city:
1. They all see the destruction (vv. 9, 18; except that the merchants don’t see it, but definitely feel it, vv. 11, 14, 16).
2. They all stand at a distance in fear over its destruction (vv. 10, 15, 17).
3. They all see the smoke of its burning (vv. 9, 18; again, with the exception of the merchants who don’t see the smoke).
4. They all weep (vv. 9, 11, 15, 18, 19).
5. They all say essentially the same thing, “Alas, Alas, that great city . . .” (vv. 10, 16, 19).
6. They all behold a sudden desolation of the city (vv. 10, 17, 19).
7. They all experience irretrievable loss (vv. 9, 11-14, 17, 19).
Note also that verse 10 and verse 20 (in the original language) testify that the destruction of the city is ‘judgment’.
I. THE LAMENTING OF THE KINGS (vv. 9-10).
A. We’re told that the kings of the earth had committed “fornication and lived luxuriously” with the harlot city (see 17:2). This apparently describes Christendom, which will have left the one true God and the faith of Christ in unfaithfulness in order to gain material wealth from a connection with this harlot city.
B. They are said to weep and lament over her when they see “the smoke of her burning”. Perhaps she will suffer something like the sudden destruction that befell Sodom and Gomorrah. It apparently occurs “in one hour”—that is, in very suddenly and unexpectedly. They stand at a distance “for fear of her torment”—suggesting that they fear the same fate falling upon them if they drew any closer.
C. Note the words of their lament. They testify in it that it is an act of judgment from God. They knew that their association with it was an evil act of unfaithfulness (see Proverbs 29:1).
II. THE MOURNING OF THE MERCHANTS (vv. 11-17a).
A. Not only is the political world affected, but so is the commercial world. The Bible tells us that no one will be able to buy or sell without pledging allegiance to the beast (see 13:17). Apparently one of the great draws of this city—and the system it represents—will be the wealth and luxury it promises to those who are connected to it. But with the city’s destruction, no one buys the wares of these merchants any longer. They had put all their stock in the city; and now it lies in ruins.
B. Note the merchandise that was traded. It begins with that which is inorganic, then to that which is organic, then to food, then to living things, then to human bodies, and finally to human souls—which testifies to the great evil of its trade. All of these things are taken from them, and they no longer find the luxury they had loved (v. 14).
C. Like the kings, the merchants will stand at a distance “for fear her torment” and mourn. They will speak longingly of the luxury of the city in the same terms that John saw in his vision of the harlot (compare 17:4 with 18:16). They too will testify of its sudden destruction.
III. THE CRYING OF THE SEA-TRADESMEN (vv. 17b-19).
A. The sea-tradesmen of the world—who were made rich by the harlot city’s merchandise— will also mourn. All of them, of every field, cry over the city, saying, “What is like this great city?” All their hopes are gone!
B. Note that they too testify of its sudden destruction. The fact that they throw dust on their heads suggest that they were somehow not on the sea at the time; but it may also simply be symbolic of the typical way of mourning in the east.
IV. THE REJOICING OF THE REDEEMED (v. 20).
A. A final group testifies. The voice—most likely of the angel (v. 4)—calls for rejoicing from heaven, along with the holy apostles and prophets (and, in some versions, the saints), over the destruction of this city. That which is a cause of mourning for the wicked of this world becomes a cause of rejoicing for those who were killed by the city (see v. 24; also 6:9-11).
B. Note, again, the testimony of judgment. We’re told that God had avenged His people on her—literally He has “judged the judgment” of His people on her.
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What a vivid testimony this will be of Jesus’ warning: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37). Better to lose all the world in order to gain Christ!