And the merchants of the earth weep and grieve over her, because no one buys their lading any more;
Babylon's fall has just been announced. The first voices we hear are not sorry for sin. They are the traders who made their fortunes from her. Verse 11 gives the reason for their tears: their market is gone, and it never reopens.
Their grief is real, but its cause is money, not conscience. One writer notes what they weep for, and what they do not:
"The merchants of the earth" grieve over Babylon. They feel no love for the system. They weep only because their trade and wealth are ruined. Babylon has a religious character, but here she is also seen as the centre of vast business interests. Her goods come from every country. That range shows how wide her influence is, and how she draws the world's riches to herself as to a centre. Think of this huge combination of secular and religious trade, dealing even in the bodies and souls of men (v. 13), named last, as of least value.
Babylon claims to be the church, yet she lives by buying and selling. One writer draws out the contradiction:
This system claims to be the Church — the Bride of Christ — yet it completely falsifies the truth of the Church. It is marked by "merchandise" and "earth" instead of faith and heaven. It claims to hand out every spiritual blessing in return for money paid to the church. Instead of preaching faith in the living Christ, it sells salvation, pardon and heaven itself for gold. It trades in the souls and bodies of men (v. 13).
The list of goods that follows verse 11 is not filler. It shows what her children live for, and how far that appetite reaches:
Why does the Spirit of God list all these articles of luxury and commerce? (v. 11-13). He does it to show us what the children of Babylon are occupied with. Everything was merchandise to her. She was the centre of all the things the people of the earth enjoy. And if the bodies and souls of men could add anything to that enjoyment, she would trade in them too. So everything becomes a matter of gain, of pleasure, and of the commerce of this world. We can see this spirit already, though all these details are not yet visible. To trade and to grow rich — that is the spring of all the politics of the world today... We should fear that the hearts of Christians may be carried away by these principles, for the principles of the world take hold of Christian hearts to a point. They even glory in them.
The chapter dwells on luxury, so a reader may think greed is the main charge against her. One commentator warns against that:
God condemns her far-reaching and evil influence as the centre, the driving force and the patron of the world's luxury. Yet it is a deep mistake to conclude from this that her huge push to commerce is her worst poison. She calls herself the church, and then plays the prostitute instead of being a pure virgin for Christ. That is monstrously false and evil, no doubt. But to join idolatry to the Lord's name is viler still, and God will not pardon it. Add to that her relentless, murderous hatred of all who truly witness for God and His Anointed.
Her collapse does not stay in the market. It reaches into everything:
Babylon's roots spread wide. She will have woven herself into almost every social fibre of the life of the nations. So her fall will spread dismay and confusion everywhere.
The same writer recalls people who weighed a work of God against their property, and chose the property:
Here is a striking example. The Lord healed a demon-possessed man, and a herd of pigs was destroyed as a result. The people of Gadara then begged the Lord Jesus to leave their region. They would rather keep the demon-possessed man and their pigs than have Jesus present, because He had interfered with what they owned.
The traders weep as men weep over something that cannot be rebuilt:
The false Church drifted far from the simple ways of the apostles' upper room. That sad departure made her the best customer the traders of the world have ever had. But once she is overthrown, she will never be restored. Her ruin is final and cannot be undone.
- Customer. A system that called itself the church became the best customer the world's traders ever had. Her demand made them rich.
- Cargo. Everything was merchandise to her, down to the bodies and souls of men. She sold spiritual blessing for gold.
- Cause. The merchants weep for lost trade, not for sin. Her fall spreads dismay because her roots ran through every fibre of national life.
- Charge. Commentators warn that luxury is not the deepest charge. Idolatry joined to the Lord's name, and hatred of His true witnesses, weigh heavier.
- Close. The people of Gadara chose their pigs over Christ. These mourners choose their earnings over God. Christian hearts can drift the same way, and this market, once shut, never opens again.
lading of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearl, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet dye, and all thyine wood, and every article in ivory, and every article in most precious wood, and in brass, and in iron, and in marble,
This verse lists a shipment of cargo that nobody will buy any more. It belongs to Babylon, the city whose fall this chapter announces.
The list is not random. One writer sorts the goods into groups. The range itself is the point: Babylon draws the produce of every country to herself.
Besides her religious character, Babylon is viewed here as the centre of vast commercial interests. The merchandise is of every kind — the product of all countries. This shows the wide influence of Babylon, and how she draws the world's riches to herself, as to a centre… In the list of Babylon's merchandise she is simply the world's storehouse, or universal marketplace. She takes in everything most valued, right down to what is counted of least value. The various articles fall into seven groups. (1) Valuables and ornaments, such as gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls. (2) Costly clothing, such as fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet. (3) Expensive furniture, such as vessels made from the most precious woods, ivory, and metals.
Why record the shopping list at all? Because a list of what a person buys is a portrait of what a person is.
Why does the Spirit of God list all these articles of luxury and commerce? (v. 11-13). It is to show us what the children of Babylon are occupied with. Everything was merchandise to her. She was the centre of all those things which the inhabitants of the earth enjoy. And if the bodies and the souls of men could help in any way towards this enjoyment, they too would be traded… To trade and to become rich — that is the spring of all the politics of the world today. If the trade of souls can serve that end, it does not matter. All that counts is reaching the aim: to make much gain and to beautify this world, of which Satan is the prince.
The merchants of the previous verse are not grieving friends. Their tears are for their books, not for her.
"The merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living." This group has traded with her for gain. There have always been a great many people who attach themselves to religion for what they can get out of it. They use the Church as a stepping-stone to advance their worldly interests. Babylon will offer a tempting bait to all such.
The order of the list matters. It opens here with gold, and by the next verse it has reached human beings — the last item, priced lowest.
Notice that they mention twenty-eight things. The first is gold and the last is the souls of men. How this describes Rome! She is the trafficker in souls and the destroyer of souls as well. And when we study the goods traded by a Christendom that has fallen away from God, we notice that these are nearly all luxury items. The greatest panic has then come and there will be no recovery of the market.
The same fine linen listed here appears again on a very different woman later in Revelation. The difference is not the fabric but how each woman got it.
The prostitute bought her fine linen as merchandise (Rev. 18:12). The Bride received hers as a gift… Outwardly, many acts of righteousness may look alike, whether done by believers or unbelievers. Yet the motive may be very different. The acts of righteousness of the false woman had a legal and selfish motive. The righteousnesses of the saints are acts done for the love of Christ.
It would be easy to read the chapter as a verdict on wealth alone. One commentator warns against stopping there.
God condemns her far-reaching and harmful influence as the centre, driver and patron of the world's luxury. Yet it is a deep mistake to conclude that this vast push to commerce is Babylon's worst poison. She calls herself the church, yet she plays the prostitute instead of being a pure virgin for Christ. That is no doubt monstrously false and evil. But to combine idolatry with the Lord's name is viler still, and unpardonable before God. Add to that her relentless and deadly hatred of all who truly bear witness to God and His Anointed.
- Storehouse — the twenty-eight goods span every country and every price bracket. Babylon is the world's marketplace, the centre that pulls all riches to itself.
- Occupation — the Spirit lists the cargo to show what she lives for. Everything, without exception, was merchandise to her.
- Traffickers — her mourners joined religion for what they could get. Her luxury was the bait, and their tears are for lost trade.
- Price tag — the list starts with gold and ends with human souls, valued last. She bought even her fine linen; the Bride received hers as a gift.
- Verdict — commerce is not the deepest charge against her. Commentators point past the luxury to idolatry under Christ's name, and to her hatred of God's true witnesses.
and cinnamon, and amomum, and incense, and unguent, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and of horses, and of chariots, and of bodies, and souls of men.
Revelation 18 shows the fall of Babylon the great. Verses 12–13 list everything she bought and sold, and the list ends with human beings.
One writer sorts the cargo into departments, and notes what the merchants grieve over:
"The merchants of the earth" grieve over Babylon. They have no love for the system. They grieve because their trade and wealth are ruined. Besides her religious character, Babylon appears here as the centre of vast commercial interests... In this list of her merchandise she is simply the world's storehouse, holding everything from what people value most down to what they count as worth least... The articles fall into seven departments. (1) Valuables and ornaments: gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls. (2) Expensive clothing: fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet. (3) Luxury furniture: objects made from the most precious woods, ivory, and metals. (4) Rich perfumes: cinnamon, frankincense, and ointments. (5) Rich food: wine, oil, flour, wheat, cattle, and sheep. (6) Grand parades: horses and chariots. (7) A shameful trade in the bodies and souls of men.
The cinnamon, incense and frankincense of this verse are not neutral goods. They belong to the holy anointing oil of Israel's worship, and here they are stock for a market:
All this wealth of love and grace stands in solemn contrast to the blasphemy of that adulterous woman. She claims these fragrant perfumes for herself, and uses them to attract godless people (Proverbs 7:17)... There she also trades in a stolen fragrance, for she has no heart for Christ — "cinnamon and incense and frankincense". Wherever people see her for what she is, let the saints of God heed the call: "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues."
The word translated "slaves" is worth noticing:
This word appears in the King James Version only in Revelation 18:13, where it should read "bodies", as the margin note says.
Peter warns of teachers who exploit believers for money. One writer sets his words beside this verse:
"And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." Here he strips bare the pretensions of religious systems. Babylon sells the souls of men (Revelation 18:13). It is a serious thing to be linked in practice with such a state of things. Through greed and hypocritical words these false teachers would trade in Christians for their own profit. This points to what is called simony — the sale of souls. But God's judgment will overtake all such people.
Gold opens the catalogue; souls close it. The sequence is a valuation, and it turns into a test for the reader:
Clearly this list presents what the lusts and pride of people in all nations most want. Gold stands at the head of the list, because man values it most. The souls of men come at the bottom, because man counts the soul as least important... So salvation is the last thing people think about. But with true believers the soul matters most, and having eternal life now is the starting point.
One writer asks why the Spirit of God lists the goods at all:
Why does the Spirit of God list all these articles of luxury and commerce? It is to describe to us the occupation of the children of Babylon. Everything was merchandise to her... And if the bodies and souls of men could help her enjoyment in any way, she would trade in them too... Trading and getting rich is the spring of all the politics of the world today. If the trade in souls serves that end, it does not matter, as long as the aim is reached: to make much gain and to beautify this world, of which Satan is the prince.
The same writer names the danger for Christians:
Satan rules over the hearts of men through these things, and so becomes the prince of this world through all the pleasures of life, which the world calls innocent. People say, What harm is there in riches, in music, in drawing, and in so many other things? This harm: through them Satan rules the world and enslaves the hearts of men for eternity. This is the character of Babylon. It is a terrible thing when a Christian can put up with Babylon's principles and shape his taste to match them.
- Priced — the cargo falls into seven classes, from ornaments to food to transport. Babylon is the world's storehouse, and everything in her has a price.
- Stolen — the cinnamon and frankincense are a stolen fragrance. She has no heart for Christ, and uses the perfume to attract godless people.
- Sold — the last item is bodies and souls. Peter names the same trade among false teachers, and God's judgment is not asleep.
- Last — souls come at the bottom because man values them least. For the believer the soul matters most, and eternal life is the starting point.
- Tested — when gain decides everything, Satan enslaves hearts. A Christian who takes on Babylon's tastes has already joined her market.