15 The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, 16 “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! 17 For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?” 19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste. 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”
This passage is a part of the Fall of Babylon that begins with the first verse of the chapter. It is also a part of the section that begins with verse 11, and it tells us that “… the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore.” Since no one buys their cargo (goods) anymore, the merchants who sell these goods are filled with sadness, weeping and mourning. This leads us to today’s passage in verses 15-20 concerning two things. Firstly, it talks about what would happen to all the wealth that had been accumulated by the merchants of the earth.
“Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” (vv. 16;17)
Verses 16-17 remind us of the horrific truth about the wealth that anyone accumulates in this world, regardless of whether they are believers or unbelievers – that this wealth is such a temporal and fleeting commodity! Wealth is so uncertain, and anyone who “invest” their effort, time and life to accumulate it would one day find that, “in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”
We do not know when this will happen, but surely it will, as prophesied in this last book of the Bible, when the curtain of human history, and with it, commercialisation and consumerism would come to a halt.
We already have some precursor of this phenomenon. There was the stock market crash on what is popularly called the Black Monday, on October 19, 1987. And this year 2022, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation has reached 8.5%, its highest rate since 1982. Also, recently the price of many of our staple food and fluid has almost doubled. This week I was having lunch at a food court (not a café) near our church. I was quite shocked that I had to pay $2.30 for a cup of tea without milk, up from $1.50.
The second thing in this passage is about what would happen to the great city of Babylon, the source of all the earth’s riches. Verses 17b-18 tell us about another group of people who benefited and depended on her to become rich. These were the people in the shipping and transportation industry, and they were greatly affected by her downfall when they saw the city burning and going up in smoke. They wept and mourned, crying out in sadness and desperation, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste. (v. 19)
The cry of anguish was directly related to the downfall of the great city of Babylon. But then, this second cry took an unexpected positive turn. It was also a cry of joy. Verse 20 tells us, “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”
Now, who were called to rejoice and what was there to rejoice over? Well, the call was for the saints, apostles and prophets who were saved, then persecuted, died and received into heaven. These were those who were called to “rejoice over her,” that is, over her downfall. And the reason for this rejoicing is because, on their behalf, God had performed his just judgment against her, causing her to be destroyed. The NIV in verses 20 says that the reason for God’s judgment upon the city of Babylon is because of “the way she treated you.”
The city of Babylon represents the kingdom of this world and its destruction concluded in the ending of all the activities in the city (vv. 21b-24). This was symbolized by the angel throwing a great stone into the sea (v. 21). As for the saints of God, they could rejoice over God’s vindication for them in his just judgment upon her.
Dear God, Just and Righteous Judge of all. Thank you that your words are certain and true. Thank you for the reminder that the kingdom of this world and all its wealth are only temporal and will be laid waste, but the saints, apostles and prophets in your kingdom will remain, and they will rejoice when you bring judgment upon the earth. Help me to hold to the things of this world lightly, and even during times when I am unfairly and unjustly treated, to endure to the end, so that I might be saved, through Christ Jesus my Lord. Amen!
