8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. 9 "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. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: " 'Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!' 11 "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more-- 12 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; 13 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 bodies and souls of men. 14 "They will say, 'The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.' 15 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 16 and cry out: " 'Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! 17 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. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, 'Was there ever a city like this great city?' 19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: " 'Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin! 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.' " 21 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. 22 The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No workman of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. 23 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 great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. 24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth."
Look what has happened. Here is more proof that there are 2 Babylon, literal and a religious. This is the mystery Babylon they are taking about. What has happened is the religious system as been destroyed by the kings and now, civilization is falling apart. We have seen this before (and will see it again!). Think of the French Revolution. When the church is destructed, the social orders are also affected leaving no social boundaries, violence ensues, and a nation will lie in ruin. What happens then? Well, a new "re-establishing" of a religious order will follow.
The mentioning of all the articles of commerce just proves that this city was a center of great wealth and commercial items.
Why the mention of the ships and the sea? It justifies that they are referring to a falling of a city as well. Sailors do not obtain wealth from a religious system, but from a commercial city that is now falling and they are basically just standing and watching as they too lose a place to trade and become wealthy.
The rest of the chapter is how it reads. Verses 22 and 23 speak to the utter destruction and the great abdomen it will suffer.
There are mentioned through out Revelation so far, 8 reasons Babylon has suffered this.
1. Pride 18:7-8
2. Oppression of Israel: 18:24
3. Sins and luxury 18:3-19
4. Idol worshipping 9:20; 13:14; 14:9&10; 16:2
5. Sexual immorality & fornication 14:8; 18:3-9
6. Spiritual beliefs other than God 18:2
7. Sorcery practice 18:23
8. Martyring of saints 18:6 and now again in 24
Look as verse 24: "and of all who have been killed on the earth" are we blaming all murder that has occurred on Earth on Babylon? Yes, it does appear so. Why? Well, if Babylon is a Religious system other that what God has commanded, it must not be of God. That means it is from Satan, and yes, I can say that murder is of Satan. Any religious system or teaching that does not match up with the word of God is not from Him. If is is not from God, then whom?
This finishes up chapter 18.
Blessings and Grace on all!!!
Calabash
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