And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication, and lived luxuriously with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they see the smoke of her burning,
Revelation 18 shows the fall of Babylon through the eyes of those who profited by her. Verse 9 opens the mourning: rulers who shared her life watch the smoke rise, and one event brings tears on earth and joy in heaven.
The chapter before this describes ten kings turning on Babylon and burning her. The mourners here are a different group.
"The kings of the earth" who weep over her ruin (Rev. 18:9) must be carefully kept apart from the ten rulers who carry out her overthrow. They are the more distant rulers of the earth, "who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her." Her glitter has attracted and trapped them. But their distance has kept them from feeling the weight of her oppressive hand as much as those nearer to the seat of her power.
The verse describes a two-way deal. A church chased the world's rulers, and the rulers were glad to be chased.
Love of display, which the Roman Church boasts of, is her argument and her appeal to the senses. The nations will bow before this god. But the kings of the earth, the leaders, are more guilty and more deliberate, as suits their position. They give themselves up to her flattery. The Church hugs the world for whatever numbers and wealth she can get, and the world gladly welcomes her embrace.
The Greek word behind the phrase also stands in Babylon's own boast in verse 7. It means more than comfort, and it carries arrogance.
There are quite a few words in the Greek New Testament carrying the idea of luxury. Streniao (Rev. 18:7, 9) speaks of "insolent luxury." The new Interlinear Greek Testament translates it "luxuriated." … The New Testament utterly condemns all of this.
They stand far off and watch. What strikes them is how quickly it came.
"The kings of the earth" lead the general mourning. They were the most intimate with her, and so they feel her loss more than others. … They mourn over her and are unable to prevent her ruin. … Standing far off, they watch the terrible burning of that mighty system of evil. They had been closely tied to it, and inside it they had lived and indulged in luxury. They tremble and fear at how awful and how sudden the judgment is: "for in a single hour your judgment has come."
In their lament they give Babylon grand titles. Their fear is better founded than they know.
The kings of the earth who have indulged themselves in luxurious evil with the woman Babylon will be shocked and will mourn the loss of this source of illicit gain and pleasure (v. 9). They themselves will not yet have fallen under the approaching judgment of God. … Little do they realise that Babylon's torment is a forewarning of what awaits them. They speak of Babylon as "the great city" and "the strong city." That is man's estimate. But she was built in independence of God, and He reduces her greatness to nothing and her strength to weakness.
Earth wails in verse 9. Heaven answers with a different sound.
In Revelation 18 there was universal earthly sorrow. The kings of the earth who had committed fornication with her lamented. The merchants she had made rich were wailing. Indeed, no class was free from her traps. Everyone who had dealt with her was full of sorrow over Babylon. But heaven was called to rejoice.
Their grief is real. But they measure it only by what they have lost.
The kings of the earth, the merchants and the sailors mourn the fall of Babylon, and we are not surprised. They judged Babylon by what she was to them — they had lived luxuriously with her. How could they see clearly enough to know her, and to see her with the mind of heaven? God "remembered her iniquities," but they remembered her as one "in which all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth." So they mourn while heaven rejoices. … But it is sad when saints admire the "costliness" that heaven has already judged.
- Partners. The mourning kings are distant rulers whom Babylon's glitter drew in. They are not the ten kings who burn her.
- Pact. Their sin was a mutual embrace. A church traded on display to gain wealth and numbers, and rulers gave themselves to her flattery.
- Pleasure. The Greek word for their shared living means insolent, arrogant luxury. The New Testament condemns it outright.
- Panic. They stand far off, unable to save her, shaken by how fast it came. It is fear, not repentance. They never see that her torment warns of their own.
- Perspective. They weep because they judged Babylon by what she gave them. Heaven rejoices because it judged her long ago. Believers who still admire her "costliness" are looking with the wrong eyes.
standing afar off, through fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour thy judgment is come.
Revelation 18 records how the world reacts to Babylon's fall. Verse 10 gives the first cry: kings who shared her luxury now watch her burn from a safe distance.
Ten other kings hate this woman and drive her downfall. The mourners in verse 10 are not those men:
"The kings of the earth" lead the general mourning. They were the most intimate with her, and so they feel her loss more than others. Do not confuse these kings, or chiefs, with the ten kings who hate the woman. The first group mourns over her and cannot prevent her ruin. The second group are the prime movers in her political downfall (Rev. 17:16).
Their grief has a clear cause. They lament a partner who had built them up while building herself up:
The kings are appalled by the violence of her overthrow, and they are afraid to stand up in her defence. Yet most of them still lament the fall of a power that had usually advanced itself by advancing rulers.
Both titles are compliments, and both are man's verdict rather than God's:
They speak of Babylon as "the great city" and "the strong city." That is man's estimate. But she has built herself up in independence from God, and He reduces her greatness to nothing and her strength to weakness. At the first Babylon men boasted of making a name for themselves, and that city was left a ruin (Gen. 11:1-9). The second Babylon will come to a similar humiliating end.
Sudden collapse is not the same as sudden decision. One writer pictures how God brought down earlier world empires:
It was because God worked in the background. While these world empires still enjoyed rest and peace, the carpenter sawed through the beams and pillars unseen. The mason moved the cornerstone. The architect undermined the hidden foundations, and no one noticed. Here and there the singing of the saw, the vibrating of the roof, and tremors of the ground spread fear and anxiety. Afterwards, blind trust and calm returned. Then came the day when all this undermining work was finished, and everything fell to ruins at once.
The merchants later use the same words, but they fill them differently:
The kings in their lament say, "In a single hour your judgment has come." The merchants say that in that same hour her great riches were laid waste. Putting the two statements together, we learn two things. The judgment of Babylon destroys her earthly prosperity. And the stroke of vengeance from the hand of the Almighty is sudden and unexpected.
They stand far off "in fear of her torment." Heaven and earth also count the hour differently:
The angel says that Babylon's plagues come in one day, but the nations speak of her judgment coming in one hour. They little realize that Babylon's torment is a forewarning of what awaits them.
The damage reaches far past the city itself:
Babylon will have spread its roots wide and woven itself into almost every social fibre of the life of the nations. So her fall will spread dismay and confusion everywhere. It will also leave human governments unstable and powerless.
They weep, but no word of their cry admits she deserved it. Their measure is themselves:
The kings of the earth, the merchants, and the sailors mourn the fall of Babylon, and we are not surprised. They judged Babylon in reference to themselves — they had lived luxuriously with her. How could they have the clear sight to know her, and to see her with the mind of heaven? God "remembered her iniquities." But they remembered her as one "in which all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth." So they mourn, while heaven rejoices.
The kings keep their distance on the day of burning. There is a wiser time to do the same thing:
When the judgment of God falls upon her, the kings, merchants, ship-masters and sailors "stand far off" for fear of her burning, and lament her overthrow. May we now "stand far off" from her, and keep near to Him to whom the true Church belongs.
- Greatness — "Great" and "strong" are man's words for her. God reduces her greatness to nothing and her strength to weakness, as He did with the first Babylon.
- Undermined — The collapse takes one hour. God had been loosening the foundations for a long time, while everything above still looked secure.
- Interlaced — She had grown into every fibre of national life. So her fall spreads dismay everywhere and leaves human governments powerless.
- Self-measured — The kings weep for what they lost, not for what she was. They judged her only in relation to themselves, so they mourn while heaven rejoices.
- Distance — They stand far off only when it is too late, and her torment is a forewarning of their own. Stand far off from her now and keep near to Christ.
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.
And the ripe fruits which were the lust of thy soul have departed from thee, and all fair and splendid things have perished from thee, and they shall not find them any more at all.
The merchants are wailing over the burning city. A voice from heaven breaks in and speaks to Babylon herself: everything she craved is gone. Two questions follow. What did her soul want? And why can she never get it back?
The traders' lament runs through verse 13, breaks off here, then picks up again at verse 15. Writers treat that break as deliberate, and note who speaks in the gap.
An episode in verse 14 interrupts the merchants' lament, and the mournful strain starts again in verse 15. The complete ruin of Babylon's merchandise, the thing that selfishly bound both king and peasant to her, leaves her a wreck. All her resources are gone. She is stripped of her former means of self-indulgence. Her sources of enjoyment have dried up. In fact everything that fed her pride, and everything essential to her existence, perishes in the sudden and unexpected blow from God's hand. A voice from Heaven speaks straight to her.
The fruit her soul longed for points back to the long list of cargo just before this verse, which ends with the bodies and souls of men. One writer asks why the Spirit lists it all.
Why does the Spirit of God list all these articles of luxury and commerce? It is to describe for us what the children of Babylon are occupied with. Everything was merchandise to her. She was the centre of all the things the inhabitants of the earth enjoy. And if the bodies and souls of men could help this enjoyment in any way, they too would be traded in. Everything becomes a matter of gain, of pleasure, of the commerce of this world… The more the means increase to satisfy this thirst for gain and luxury, the more the craving for them will devour the souls of men.
Babylon is not just a trading city here. Commentators see in her a religious system that has made the world's tastes her own.
This was Babylon, and in spirit this is Christendom. Christendom is the thing that glorifies herself and lives in luxury on the earth. She trades in everything desirable and costly in the world's esteem, right in the face of the sorrow and rejection of what belongs to God. Christendom practically forgets Christ rejected on the earth.
It would be easy to read this verse and think God's quarrel with Babylon is her shopping list. One writer warns against that reading.
God condemns her far-reaching and harmful influence as the centre, agent, and patron of the world's luxury. Yet it is a deep mistake to conclude from this that such a huge boost to commerce is Babylon's worst poison. She calls herself the church, yet she plays the harlot 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 this her relentless and deadly hatred of all who truly bear witness to God and His Anointed.
The closing clause is the sharpest part of the verse. What is lost here is not lost for a season.
The false Church has drifted far from the simplicity of the apostles' upper room. That departure has 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.
The same principle reaches any heart set on what this world offers. Babylon's sudden loss shows what all worldly desire comes to in the end.
It is short-lived, with God's sentence of death upon it. It is all to pass away. It is passing, and its desire with it — for who can hold on to it? It makes no difference whether it is riches or rank, pleasure, power, or anything else. It comes to nothing… Even so, men are eaten up with the desire to be something greater than they are. Under the surface lies an unhappiness that pleasure cannot drive away.
- Craving. Babylon's soul wanted what the traders sold, even the bodies and souls of men. The more the supply grew, the more the craving grew.
- Cover. She craved it under a religious name. She glorified herself and lived in luxury in the very world that rejected Christ.
- Charge. Her luxury is not the worst of it. Commentators name two deeper sins: idolatry joined to the Lord's name, and hatred of God's true witnesses.
- Collapse. One blow from God's hand strips away her resources, her pride, and her means of self-indulgence.
- Closure. She will not find them again: this ruin is final, and it is a preview of what every desire built on this world will come to.
The merchants of these things, who had been enriched through her, shall stand afar off through fear of her torment, weeping and grieving,
In Revelation 18 the great city Babylon falls, and three groups mourn her: kings, merchants, and sailors. Verse 15 belongs to the traders who had grown rich from her, and their tears raise a question: what are they weeping over, and why do they stay far away?
Their tie to Babylon was business, not belief.
"The merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living." This third class has traded with her for gain. There have always been many people who attach themselves to religion for what they can get. They use the Church as a stepping-stone to advance their interests in this life. Babylon will offer a tempting bait to all such people. Her abundant luxuries will attract "the merchants of the earth," and they will grow rich by her. Soon, though, the scene will change. These same traders weep and wail over the ruin of the very thing that made them rich.
The verse names why they weep: they "gained wealth from her." Heaven and these mourners look at the same city, but they remember different things.
The kings of the earth, the merchants, and the sailors mourn the fall of Babylon, and we are not surprised. They judged Babylon in reference to themselves — they had lived luxuriously with her. How could they have the eye-salve that would let them know her, and see her as heaven sees her? God "remembered her iniquities," but they remembered her as the city "in which all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth." So they mourn while heaven rejoices.
What is absent from their lament is any thought of God at all.
Man loves what glorifies and enriches himself. He looks at the fall of this system without caring about its moral character, or about the dishonour it has done to God. He is absorbed in his own interests, and God is not in all his thoughts.
They keep their distance, standing far off "in fear of her torment." One writer points to people who once chose their livestock over the presence of Christ.
Here is a striking example. Jesus healed the demon-possessed man, and their pigs were destroyed as a result. Then the people of Gadara begged the Lord Jesus to leave their region. They would rather keep the demon-possessed man and their pigs than have the presence of Jesus, because He had interfered with the things they owned.
The cargo list in verses 11–13 shows what "these wares" means. One writer reads that list as a picture of a whole way of life.
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 taken up with. Everything was merchandise to her. She was the centre of everything the people of the earth enjoy. And if the bodies and souls of men could add to that enjoyment in any way, she would trade in them too. Everything then 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 become rich — there is the spring of all the present politics of the world.
One writer sets the merchants' cry beside the cry of the kings. The small difference between them matters.
Then the lament starts again, but on a wider basis. Merchants in general — that is, those "who gained wealth from her" — take up the lament in words much like those of the kings (v. 10). There is one difference worth noting. The kings say "In one hour your judgment has come," while the merchants say "In one hour such great wealth has been laid waste." Put the two statements together, and we learn two things. The judgment of Babylon destroys her earthly prosperity. And the blow of vengeance from the hand of the Almighty is sudden and unexpected.
The traders weep with good reason. One writer explains what Babylon had been to them, and why she will not return.
Well may they weep and lament. The false Church has drifted far from the simple ways of the apostles in the upper room. That sad departure has 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.
- Gain — the merchants attach themselves to Babylon for what they can get. Religion is their stepping-stone to profit.
- Goods — everything is merchandise to Babylon, even the bodies and souls of men.
- Grief — they weep for themselves and judge Babylon by their own profits. Heaven remembers her sins; they remember her wealth.
- Gap — they stand far off in fear, like the people who preferred their pigs to the presence of Jesus.
- Gone — one hour ends it all. A sudden blow destroys her prosperity, and her ruin is final.
saying, Woe, woe, the great city, which [was] clothed with fine linen and purple and scarlet, and had ornaments of gold and precious stones and pearls!
The merchants of the earth watch the great city burn and cry out over her, listing her clothes and jewels rather than her sins. What did that finery stand for, and why did her fall hit the traders so hard?
Purple and scarlet appear in the list of what she wore. Both colours carried a known meaning:
If the purple is taken as symbolic of royalty and universal dominion, the scarlet may signify earthly grandeur… Scarlet is also used with purple to point out the earthly grandeur of Papal Rome.
Who is wearing the finery matters. This city claims the place of Christ's wife while He is away:
Rome has not only caught the great and powerful in her net. Her worldliness, her splendour and her display have made her dear to those who cater to luxury and show. The wife of an absent Christ should have been dressed in mourning. Instead she sat as a queen, not a widow. She dressed herself in purple and scarlet, and covered herself with gold, precious stones and pearls. No wonder "the merchants of the earth" mourn her fall.
Two women in Revelation wear fine linen: this city, and the Bride of Christ. The difference is not the cloth but how each of them got it:
The false woman had also clothed herself with fine linen (Rev. 18:16), but how different from the Bride of Christ. The harlot got her fine linen by "merchandise" (Rev. 18:12). The Bride's fine linen was "given"… On the outside, many acts of righteousness look alike, whether done by believers or unbelievers. Yet the motive can 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.
Notice what the merchants grieve. Their cry echoes the kings' cry a few verses earlier, with one change:
The kings in their lament say, "In a single hour your judgment has come," while the merchants say, "In a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste." Put the two statements together. The judgment of Babylon involves the destruction of her worldly prosperity. And the blow of vengeance from the hand of the Almighty is sudden and unexpected.
The same fall draws opposite reactions from earth and heaven. Why do these men weep?
The kings of the earth, the merchants, and the sailors mourn the fall of Babylon, and we are not surprised. They judged Babylon in relation to themselves — they had lived in luxury with her. How could they have eye-salve to know her, and to see her with the mind of heaven?… They therefore mourn, when heaven rejoices.
The speed of the fall is part of the judgment:
The passage points out clearly how sudden, violent and final the judgment is. It is so sudden that we are told, "her plagues will come in a single day"… It is like the other judgments. When people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction comes. Or think of Belshazzar's ungodly feast. The thousand lords and princes were merry with wine, praising the gods of gold and silver, filled with the excitement of the royal party. In that same hour the fingers of a man's hand came out and wrote on the wall.
The long list of goods could make trade and luxury look like the heart of the charge. One writer warns against that:
God condemns her far-reaching and harmful influence as the centre, the agent and the patron of the world's luxury. But it is a deep error to conclude from this that such a vast boost to commerce is Babylon's worst poison. She claims to be the church, yet she plays the harlot instead of being a pure virgin for Christ. That is a monstrous evil and a lie. 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.
- Worn — purple and scarlet stand for royal claim and earthly grandeur. She wears what the world values most.
- Claimed — the wife of an absent Christ should have dressed in mourning. She sat as a queen instead, and the traders loved her for it.
- Bought — the harlot bought her fine linen as merchandise. The Bride's was given to her. The motive, not the look, divides them.
- Mourned — kings and merchants judge her only in relation to themselves. They weep for lost riches while heaven rejoices.
- Lost — the blow falls in a single hour, as sudden as the writing on the wall at Belshazzar's feast. Her worst guilt was idolatry under the Lord's name and hatred of His witnesses.
for in one hour so great riches has been made desolate. And every steersman, and every one who sailed to any place, and sailors, and all who exercise their calling on the sea, stood afar off,
The world holds a funeral for its own prosperity. Sea captains, crews and everyone who earns a living on the water stand at a distance and watch the smoke rise from Babylon. Why is the loss counted in one hour? Why do the mourners weep over money and never over sin?
The kings and the merchants cry out in almost the same words. Almost — and the small difference tells us both what fell and how fast.
The lament starts again, but on a wider basis. Merchants in general — that is, those "who gained wealth from her" — take up the lament in words like those of the kings. There is one difference. The kings say "in a single hour your judgment has come." The merchants say "in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste." Put the two together, and we learn that the judgment of Babylon destroys her prosperity here on earth. We also learn that the blow of vengeance from the hand of the Almighty is sudden and unexpected.
Three times this chapter repeats the same span of time. That short span is what makes the fall so frightening. Belshazzar was a king of Babylon; at his feast a hand appeared and wrote on the wall.
The suddenness, violence and final character of the judgment stand out plainly. It is so sudden that we are told her plagues will come in one day. "In a single hour your judgment has come"; "in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste"; "in a single hour she has been laid waste." It is as with the other judgments. While people are saying "There is peace and security," sudden destruction comes. So it was at Belshazzar's arrogant feast. The thousand lords and princes were merry with wine, praising the gods of gold and silver, caught up in the excitement of the royal party. In that same hour the fingers of a man's hand came out and wrote against the wall.
The mourning reaches past the palace and the market. Everyone who lives by trade at sea is caught in the same collapse.
Shipmasters, sailors, and all seafaring interests suffer equally with those already named. In the moving funeral song from the sea, they remember and mourn the past greatness and riches of Babylon.
The ships stand for more than shipping.
All this description, as you will see at once, is symbolic. It means that the judgment on Babylon throws the whole commercial system of the empire into complete disorder, if it does not destroy it. The blow that falls on her destroys the prosperity of the inhabited world along with her. That is why the sorrow is universal. People are always ready to mourn the loss of the means of their comfort, wealth and affluence.
Notice what is absent from every cry in this chapter: not one word about her sins. The mourners weigh Babylon on the scale of their own profit.
The kings of the earth, the merchants and the sailors mourn the fall of Babylon, and we are not surprised. They judged Babylon in relation to themselves — they had lived in luxury with her. How could they have the clear sight to know her, and to see her as heaven sees her? God "remembered her iniquities," but they remembered her as one in whom all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth. So they mourn, while heaven rejoices.
The long inventory of cargo can mislead a reader into thinking luxury trade is the charge God brings against her. One writer warns directly against that conclusion.
God condemns her far-reaching and harmful influence as the centre, agent and patron of the world's luxury. Yet it is a deep mistake to conclude from this that her huge push to commerce is Babylon's worst poison. She calls herself the church. That she should play the harlot instead of being a pure virgin for Christ 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.
Markets usually recover. This one never will.
The false Church has drifted far from the simple ways of the apostles' upper room. That drift has made her the best customer the traders of the world ever had. But once overthrown, this will never be restored; her ruin is final and irreversible.
- One hour. The chapter repeats the same short span over judgment, over wealth, over the city herself. The fall is sudden, violent and final.
- One hour, widening. Kings, then merchants, then everyone who trades by sea. The circle of mourners grows, because Babylon's fall drags the world's prosperity down with her.
- One hour, wrongly measured. Every lament counts lost profit, never her sin. People mourn their lost comforts, not the offence against God.
- One hour, rightly measured. The real charge is not luxury trade but idolatry joined to the Lord's name and hatred of His witnesses.
- One hour, and no second one. Her ruin is final and cannot be undone. Heaven rejoices where earth weeps.
and cried, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying, What [city] is like to the great city?
A city burns, and the men who made their living from her stand watching the smoke. Their cry is not repentance but comparison.
The burning is not a private disaster. One writer names the target of this judgment, then reads the rising smoke as proof that the fall was public. Whoever the human agents may be, God is the Judge behind it.
The angel has full authority given to him to deal thoroughly with the matter in hand: the most wicked religious system on earth. The fall of Babylon was a public event — the smoke of her burning (v. 18), as it darkened the heavens, proclaimed this far and near. But the earth shone — not with the reflection of the sun, but with the glory of the descending angel. This showed that whoever the actors and agents may be, God, as the Righteous Judge, judges Babylon.
Babylon here is not just a place on a map. Other writers quoted below call her a false church — a world-wide religious system whose spending made the world's traders rich.
Kings mourn first, then merchants, and now the shipping trade. One writer explains why the sea traders had such reason to weep, and why what they lost will never be restored.
The merchants and the shipmen take up the wail also. Well may they weep and lament. The grievous departure from the simplicity of the apostolic upper room has made the false Church the best customer the traders of the world have ever had. But this, once overthrown, will never be restored; her ruin is final and cannot be reversed.
Their cry is a comparison. One writer hears astonishment in it: no other city fell so fast, and none had looked so immovable.
Shipping companies and their employees mourn the huge loss of trade because of her collapse. Traffic in and out of Rome has been notoriously heavy through the centuries. What city has been like this great city? What other city has been so suddenly and totally destroyed? — especially a city boasting of a world-wide religious organisation that had seemed immovable! Sea traders then repeat what the kings (v. 10) and the merchants (v. 17) said: "in one hour she is made desolate" (v. 19).
Nowhere in the lament is there a word about her sins. One writer sets the mourners' memory beside God's.
The kings of the earth, the merchants, and the sailors mourn the fall of Babylon, and we are not surprised. They judged Babylon in relation to themselves — they had lived in luxury with her. How could they have the clear sight to know what she was, and to see her with the mind of heaven? God "remembered her iniquities," but they remembered her as the one "in whom all who had ships in the sea grew rich by her wealth." So they mourn, while heaven rejoices. But it is sad that saints should be admiring the "wealth" which the mind of heaven has already judged.
The same instinct showed itself long before. Another writer points to a town that weighed Jesus against its property.
Here is a striking example. After the healing of the demon-possessed man, and the destruction of the pigs that followed, the people of Gadara begged the Lord Jesus to leave their region. They would rather keep the demon-possessed man and their pigs than have Jesus present. He had interfered with their earthly possessions.
The same event draws two opposite reactions. What makes earth mourn is heaven's cue to rejoice.
There is always a total contrast between God's thoughts and man's. All classes of people grieve over Babylon's fall. Now, in contrast, we hear heaven's estimate of the event. "Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her" (v. 20). What causes universal sorrow and widespread dismay on earth is the occasion of joy in heaven. It is joy too for those on earth who had been witnesses for Christ, some of them martyrs for His name's sake (v. 24).
- Smoke — the burning is public for all to see. Whatever human hands do the damage, God is the Judge behind it.
- Sea — the shipping trade wails because it has lost its best customer ever: a false church that spent like no other.
- Comparison — their one question is about greatness, not guilt. What other city looked so immovable and fell so fast?
- Self — they judge Babylon by what she was worth to them. God remembers her sins; they remember only her wealth — like the townspeople who chose their pigs over Christ.
- Split — one fire, two verdicts. Earth mourns while heaven rejoices, so do not admire now what heaven has already judged.
and cast dust upon their heads, and cried, weeping and grieving, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, in which all that had ships in the sea were enriched through her costliness! for in one hour she has been made desolate.
Revelation 18 closes with three funeral songs over the fallen city. This verse is the last of them, sung from the sea by the men whose ships carried her luxury. Their grief is loud. What are they actually crying over?
The lament spreads outward: kings first, then merchants, and last the men who lived off the sea.
Shipmasters, sailors, and all seafaring interests suffer just as much as those already named. They remember and mourn Babylon's past greatness and riches in the sad funeral song from the sea (see Ezekiel 27).
The verse opens with a gesture rather than a word. It belongs to an old and known language of mourning.
To "cast dust upon the head" was a sign of grief. Ezekiel 27:30; Revelation 18:19.
Each group of mourners repeats the same time-phrase, but they do not weep over the same loss.
The kings in their lament say that in one hour her judgment has come, while the merchants say that in one hour such great riches have been laid waste. Put the two statements together, and we learn two things. The judgment of Babylon destroys her worldly prosperity. And the blow of vengeance from the hand of the Almighty is sudden and unexpected.
Sudden to those watching — but not sudden in preparation. One writer pictures God quietly dismantling the structure long before it drops.
It was because God worked in the background. These world empires still enjoyed rest and peace. All the while the carpenter sawed through the beams and pillars unseen, the mason shifted the cornerstone, and the architect weakened the hidden foundations, unnoticed. Here and there the song of the saw, the shaking of the roof, and tremors in the ground spread fear and worry. Then blind trust and quiet came back, until the day all this hidden work was finished and everything fell to ruins at once.
The sailors call her the source of their wealth. Where did all that buying come from?
No wonder they weep and mourn. The sad drift away from the simple gatherings of the apostles in the upper room has made the false Church the best customer the world's traders ever had. But once she is overthrown, she will never be restored. Her ruin is final and cannot be undone.
The mourning is not confined to the ships.
The blow that falls on her destroys the prosperity of the whole inhabited world with her. So the sorrow is universal. Men are always ready to mourn the loss of what gives them comfort, wealth, and ease.
Heaven and the shipowners look at the same ruin and judge it in opposite ways. Each remembers her for something different.
They judged Babylon by what she meant to them — they had lived in luxury with her. How could they see clearly enough to know her, and to see her with the mind of heaven? God "remembered her iniquities," but they remembered her as one "where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth." So they mourn, when heaven rejoices... But it is sad that saints should be admiring the "costliness" which the mind of heaven has already judged.
The scene is future, but the pull it describes is not. One writer points to the danger for Christians today.
Babylon does not seek heaven, but the earth... Babylon is content with worldly greatness. Steer clear of this, and Babylon has no attraction for you. The present danger to every soul from Babylon is that Christians slowly come to care for and allow what people value on the earth.
- Trade. The last mourners are the shipping men, who grew rich off her. Their song from the sea follows the pattern of Ezekiel 27.
- Dust. Dust thrown on the head was the known sign of grief. Their sorrow is the sorrow of a funeral.
- Hour. Kings mourn a judgment that fell in one hour; traders mourn a fortune lost in one hour. The blow is sudden, though God's hidden work ran on long before it. And once she falls, she is never restored.
- Tears. They weep for the profits, not the sins. God remembered her wickedness; they remembered her as the source of their money.
- Warning. The danger now is the appetite, not the crash — Christians slowly caring for what the world values. Steer clear of that, and Babylon has no attraction.