Read Introduction to Revelation
“And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: “merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; “and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. “The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. “The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, “and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! ‘For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance “and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’ “They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate‘”
Now we turn to the grief of businessmen and women in verses 11-19.
“And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore” (Revelation 18:11).
Businessmen mourn over the collapse of this international system because the whole world economy will fall with it. This is the loss of world-wide trade.
“merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble” (Revelation 18:12).
Businessmen grieve over twenty-nine items of wealth in verses 12-14. First, they mourn the loss of precious metals and stones. They also grieve over the loss of precious fabrics. They grieve over the loss of their furnishings business.
“and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men” (Revelation 18:13).
They cry over the loss of perfumes, foods, beef industry, transportation industry and even over the loss of their employees! That is, those who sold their souls to the company store.
“The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all” (Revelation 18:14).
Souls that derive their central value from material things will find disappointment. Wealth will escape from them. Material things are transient and do not last in the soul. There will come a point when they will never find fulfillment in these things again because God will judge the whole thing.
“The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing” (Revelation 18:15).
Business people who earned their riches by the philosophy of internationalism will reject that philosophy in the end out of fear.
“and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! (Revelation18:6).
Apostate religion was good for business. Now that the great whore [international religion] has fallen and now that the international governmental system has fallen, their business is ruined. Their profits slip through their fingers.
‘For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance” (Revelation 18:17).
Captains of ships and sailors stand in shock over the fall of Babylon’s world economy. The transportation industry comes to a halt.
“and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’ (Revelation 18:18).
As people in the transportation industry watch the international economic system go up in smoke, they lament the vigorous business they had because of the strong world economy.
“They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate’ (Revelation 18:19).
They do not grieve for the loss of Babylon as much as they mourn their own personal losses.
Principle:
People who live for wrong purposes will eventually betray those false purposes.
Application:
People who live for the wrong ends will betray their nation. True character lives beyond self and selfishness. Nations decay from within. As the people go, so does the nation.
People who completely abandon themselves to wealth disregard God who created wealth. Jesus warned against making wealth our god.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
