The Doom Of Babylon
THE DOOM OF BABYLON
REVELATION 18:20-24
The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
The present writer considers it strange that many modern versions should have taken 18:20 as the close of the mariners’ lament. If it were so, their sudden recognition of the role of heaven, and the justification of those who had lost their lives in or through Babylon would run counter to the whole trend of the chapter. Rather, 18:20 would seem to be John’s own comment, showing his deep satisfaction. Whether we think of Babylon as a place or a system, as religious or commercial, there seems no reason why its judgment should anticipate the general judgment. It could have been swept away in the dust caused by the return (see Daniel 2:34f.).
There follows the symbolic sign of the doom of Babylon (18:21; see also Jeremiah 51:63f.). It should be noted that we are not told exactly how Babylon the prostitute and the city perish. The foretelling of Scripture is to enable us to recognize God’s hand, when he brings his purpose to pass, not to enable us to flaunt our knowledge by being able to tell people exactly how things are to come about.
Just as the destruction of the prostitute is not something sudden like a bolt from the blue, so too, just at the time when international commerce seems to have reached its height, there are growing signs of its breaking down.
The prostitute offers humanity second-rate religion, the outward appearance without the inner reality. International commerce draws the world closer together, not to create a true sense of family, but to make exploitation easier. True believers, by true fellowship with their Lord and sense of family and community, show up the hollowness of Babylon. That is one reason why true believers are hated and persecuted.