“Revelation 18:15-20”

Friday, January 19, 2018

“The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’ And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’ Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”

---End of Scripture verses---

The merchants “who became rich with” (verse 15) and because of Imperial Rome weep and mourn over the fact that “such great wealth has been laid waste” (verse 16). To the wealthy of this world, “money is the answer to everything” (Ecclesiastes 10:19). “The rich man’s wealth is his fortress” and “the ruin of the poor is their poverty,” but from heaven’s perspective “the wages of the righteous is life” and “the income of the wicked is punishment” (Proverbs 10:15-16).

Great riches can prove to be a great blessing when they are accompanied by righteousness and a wealth of good works (1 Timothy 6:17-19), but more often than not they become an obstacle to godly living and making good kingdom choices (Matthew 19:23-26; 1 Timothy 6:9-10). We brought neither money nor material assets into this world when God formed us in the womb, and we will take nothing with us that is not credited to our spiritual account when we leave (1 Timothy 6:6-8). Lay your treasures up in heaven or else they will be buried here on earth and decay along with the body you leave behind (Matthew 6:19-21).

“They threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning” over the loss of “the great city” (verse 19). “The completeness of this destruction, signified by ‘in one hour,’ astounded the seamen and ship owners who had brought to Rome’s nearby harbor the produce from throughout the world. In their view no city was like this city; similarly, no destruction would compare with her downfall. Although the world’s merchants really did not like Rome, they loved the wealth gained through her.” (Harkrider)

Homer Hailey wrote: “Trade and commerce of themselves are not wicked; they are good when used for the welfare of humanity. However, when used for selfish luxury and the gratifying of fleshly lusts, they become unrighteous, profane, and wicked. As Blackwood so aptly said of Tyre, ‘Like the uprooted vine that generated the self-consuming fire (Ezek. 19:14), a culture that worships commercial success will strike the sparks that ultimately burn it to ashes’ (Blackwood, p. 186).”

What brings weeping and moaning to the wicked and worldly is cause for rejoicing among the righteous and other-worldly (verse 20). But God’s people are encourage to celebrate the overthrow of sinfulness and the triumph of righteousness, and not the collapse of a great city or nation. “‘As I live!’ declares the Lord, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways!’” (Ezekiel 33:11) The fall of such a great “civilization” was indeed a bittersweet moment—simultaneously a time for lamenting and jubilation.

“In this instance to rejoice is to make merry because of gladness (cf. Luke 15:23, 24, 29, 32). The earth-dwellers made merry over the death of the two witnesses (11:10), but the tables have been turned. The heavens and they that dwell in them had been called upon to rejoice at the casting down of Satan, although woe would be the fate of the sea and earth (12:12)… The interest of the heavens continues, and they now rejoice with the saints in their victory. Included in the rejoicing are saints, apostles, and prophets, in contrast to the mourning of the kings, merchants, and seamen. These who rejoice had together fought a bitter battle against the enemy.” (Hailey)

Please read Revelation 18:21-24.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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