Bird's-eye view
In this section of Revelation, the Holy Spirit gives us a glimpse into the boardrooms and shipping offices of the world after the fall of Babylon. And what we see is not sorrow for the city's sin, but a bitter, self-interested mourning over lost profits. The merchants and mariners of the earth weep because their greatest consumer has gone bankrupt in a single hour. John provides a detailed bill of lading, a list of the luxury goods that fueled this corrupt world system, a list that climaxes in the most grotesque commodity of all: the bodies and souls of men. This is the economic chapter of Revelation, and it reveals the engine that drives the great harlot's empire, which is mammon. But in stark contrast to the wailing of the globalists, a command comes down from Heaven. The saints, apostles, and prophets are told to rejoice. Why? Because the fall of this great, persecuting city is their vindication. God has judged their case and found in their favor. The world weeps over a fallen stock market; Heaven rejoices over fallen idols.
This passage is a tale of two reactions. For those whose treasure is on earth, the collapse of a corrupt economic system is the end of the world. For those whose treasure is in Heaven, it is the justice of God. This judgment, which found its historical anchor in the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem, the apostate harlot city, serves as a paradigm for how God deals with every proud, persecuting, mammon-worshiping system in history. The merchants' grief is entirely selfish; the saints' joy is entirely righteous.
Outline
- 1. The Bankruptcy of Babylon (Rev 18:11-20)
- a. The Mourning of the Merchants (Rev 18:11-13)
- b. The Inventory of Idolatry (Rev 18:12-13)
- c. The Finality of the Loss (Rev 18:14)
- d. The Terror of the Tycoons (Rev 18:15-17a)
- e. The Lament of the Longshoremen (Rev 18:17b-19)
- f. The Rejoicing of the Redeemed (Rev 18:20)
Context In Revelation
Chapter 18 is the second of three great dirges over the fallen Babylon. Chapter 17 described the harlot city in all her gaudy glory and prophesied her destruction by the beast she rode. Chapter 18 now describes the economic and social fallout of that destruction. This is the "what it looks like on the ground" report. The kings of the earth lamented in the previous section (vv. 9-10), and now the merchants and the maritime industry join the chorus. This entire chapter serves as a detailed explanation of the angel's cry in 18:2, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!" It sets the stage for the glorious scene change in chapter 19, where the sound of mourning on earth is replaced by the Hallelujah Chorus in Heaven at the marriage supper of the Lamb. The fall of the harlot is the necessary prelude to the wedding of the Bride.
Key Issues
- The Sin of Materialism
- The Commodification of Humanity
- Worldly Grief vs. Godly Joy
- The Vindication of the Martyrs
- The Speed and Finality of God's Judgment
- The Identification of Babylon with Apostate Jerusalem
The Great Babylon Bankruptcy
When a great corporation goes under, there are many tears. But we must always ask what the tears are for. Are they for the victims of the company's corrupt practices? Are they tears of repentance for participating in a wicked system? Or are they tears for the lost income, the vanished dividends, the defunct pension plan? The mourning in Revelation 18 is of the last kind. It is the weeping of men who have lost their god, and their god is Mammon. They had invested everything in the great harlot, the apostate city that blended corrupt worship with corrupt commerce. She was the best customer a globalist could ask for. And in one hour, her credit line was cut off permanently.
This is not just an ancient story about first-century trade routes. It is a timeless portrait of the world system that stands in opposition to the kingdom of God. This system is built on luxury, exploitation, and the reduction of all things, including human beings, to the level of a commodity. When God brings such a system down, as He did with Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and as He will with all such systems, the world will howl. But the church must have a different reaction. Our response is not found in the stock ticker, but in the Word of God. And that Word tells us to rejoice.
Verse by Verse Commentary
11 “And the merchants of the earth cry and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo anymore,
The reason for the merchants' grief is stated with brutal honesty. It is not that a great center of culture is gone. It is not that souls have been lost. It is because the market has collapsed. "No one buys their cargo anymore." This is the lament of pure, unadulterated greed. Their sorrow is entirely self-referential. The "merchants of the earth" represent the entire global economic system that profits from and enables the harlot's sin. They are not innocent bystanders; they are collaborators. They got rich by servicing her idolatries, and now that she is gone, their revenue stream has dried up.
12-13 cargo of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from precious wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and amomum and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargo of horses and carriages and human beings and human lives.
John now gives us a detailed shipping manifest. This is not just a random list of expensive things; it is a portrait of a culture given over to decadent luxury. It moves from precious metals and gems to fine fabrics, exotic woods and materials, spices and perfumes, foodstuffs, and transportation. This was the stuff that fueled the high-end economy of the ancient world, much of it flowing into the opulent and corrupt temple system in Jerusalem. But the list builds to a horrifying climax: "human beings and human lives." The Greek is literally "bodies and souls of men." This is the rotten heart of the whole enterprise. The economy of Babylon is built on the ultimate commodification, slavery. It treats men and women, made in the image of God, as just another line item on a ledger. Any economic system that does this, whether through literal chattel slavery or through other forms of economic exploitation that deny human dignity, is the spawn of Babylon.
14 And the fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were splendid and shining have passed away from you and men will no longer find them.
The voice now shifts to address the fallen city directly. The "fruit you long for" refers to the delicacies and luxuries her soul craved. All the glitter, all the opulence, all the "splendid and shining" things that defined her are gone. And the loss is total and permanent. "Men will no longer find them." This is not a recession; it is an annihilation. The judgment of God does not just diminish, it removes. The pleasures of sin are for a season, and that season has come to an abrupt end.
15-16 The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, crying 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;
Like the kings before them, the merchants keep a safe distance. They are terrified that the fire consuming the city will leap over to them. They are fair-weather friends, happy to profit from her sin but unwilling to share in her judgment. Their "Woe, woe" is a cry of economic despair. They lament what she was, a city clothed in the very fabrics and adorned with the very gems that they themselves had sold her. They are not mourning the city; they are mourning the loss of their best client.
17-18 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 is like the great city?’
The speed of the collapse is emphasized again: "in one hour." God's judgments can seem slow in coming, but when they arrive, they are swift and decisive. Now the perspective shifts from the corporate headquarters to the docks. The entire maritime industry, from captains to deckhands, joins the lament. They too stand at a distance, watching the smoke rise. Their cry, "What is like the great city?" is a gasp of disbelief. In the ancient world, a great port city was a symbol of power and permanence. To see it utterly destroyed was to see the impossible happen. It was the end of their world, the death of their idol.
19 And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, crying and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who have ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’
They engage in the ancient ritual of mourning, throwing dust on their heads. But again, the reason for their grief is explicitly financial. They became rich by her wealth. Her destruction is their ruin. The repetition of "in one hour" drives the point home. The global economy that seemed so invincible, so permanent, was brought to nothing in less time than a lunch break. This is a permanent warning against placing our trust in the princes of this world or the economic systems they build.
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”
And now, the whiplash. The camera pans from the shores of the sea, filled with weeping merchants, up to the courts of Heaven. And the command is the exact opposite of what is happening on earth. "Rejoice!" Heaven, and all the saints with it, especially the apostles and prophets who were martyred by the harlot city, are commanded to celebrate. This is not sadistic gloating. It is righteous joy in the justice of God. The phrase "God has pronounced judgment for you against her" is a legal declaration. It means God has heard your case, He has taken up your appeal, and He has rendered a verdict in your favor. The martyrs under the altar had cried out, "How long, O Lord?" (Rev 6:10). This is the answer. Their prayers have been answered. Their blood has been vindicated. The fall of Babylon is good news for the people of God.
Application
We live in the midst of a global Babylon. Our world is driven by a lust for more, a consumerism that chews up resources and spits out injustice, and that ultimately devalues human life. It is very easy for Christians to be caught up in this, to measure our lives by the standards of Babylon, to grieve when Babylon grieves and rejoice when Babylon rejoices. This passage is a bracing corrective.
First, we must see the world's economic systems for what they are. When they are not submitted to the Lordship of Christ, they inevitably become idolatrous and exploitative, culminating in treating people as products. We must refuse to participate in this commodification of our fellow man.
Second, we must check our emotional responses. When the stock market tanks, is our first reaction one of fear and grief for our portfolio, or is it an opportunity to ask if God is shaking the kingdoms of this world? We are citizens of another city, and our loyalties must be clear. We must not be the merchants who stand at a distance, weeping for their lost profits.
Finally, we must learn to rejoice in the justice of God. We should pray for the downfall of wicked and persecuting systems. We should long for the day when God vindicates His people and brings all His enemies to nothing. The world calls this hatred, but the Bible calls it justice. The merchants weep because their best customer is dead. The saints rejoice because their worst enemy has been judged, and their King is on the throne.