The Bible is made up of 66 books some of which are classed as belonging to the poetry genre. The best known example is the large collection of Psalms. There is also the Songs of Solomon which is a collection of love poetry. People would not normally think of turning to the book of Revelation as an example of poetry in the Bible. But, I find chapter 18 one of the most powerful pieces of poetry. The Book of Revelation does not fit neatly into any one genre - it is a letter, it is prophecy, it is apocalyptic literature but chapter 18 is an example of beautiful poetry. I believe that the whole of the last book in the Bible was read out loud to the congregations of seven churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor in present day Turkey. The small group who have joined with me in studying Revelation at Dawson Community Church, Falkirk looked forward to hearing David Suchet reading a chapter at the start of our study. Here is a recording of him reading chapter 18 - it is worth listening to.
The writer of Revelation is a master at using words to express emotion. In particular, he employs repetition to great effect. We might imagine repeating the same phrases to be boring but the writer of Revelation builds up the pathos by means of repetition.
[21] Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
[22] and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,
will be heard in you no more,
and a craftsman of any craft
will be found in you no more,
and the sound of the mill
will be heard in you no more,
[23] and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.
[24] And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of all who have been slain on earth.” [Revelation 18:21-24 ESV]
The repetition of 'no more' intensifies the tone of this lament at the fall of Babylon the Great. To what is John referring when he speaks of Babylon the Great? I have already discussed this in a previous blog.
Those Christians who listened to the book of Revelation being read publicly, would undoubtedly have associated Babylon with the city of Rome and its powerful empire. They would take comfort from the prophecy of the imminent fall of this powerful empire and its oppression of those Christians who were reluctant to worship Caesar. A very interesting commentary by Michael J. Gorman sees features of the phenomenon of civil religion in the United States which he compares to Babylon in the book of Revelation. He claims that in this powerful nation, secular power is 'deemed as sacred and worthy of devotion and allegiance.' Darrell Johnson, talks about Christians 'living in the great city' which is a shorthand for modern civilisation in any country and he presents a powerful challenge to Christians particularly in the developed world with the choice of whether we are at ease in Babylon or looking for the greater city to come (which is described symbolically in chapter 21 and 22 of Revelation).
Notice that there is a reference to 'merchants' as being the great ones of the earth. There is a strong emphasis on material wealth and prosperity in this chapter. In the first century there was a social class of merchants who benefited financially from being part of this vast empire where there were many opportunities to trade in a huge range of luxury commodities. There is a list of cargoes which were transported across the Roman Empire - precious stones, precious metals, spices, animals, costly wooden items and slaves.
[11] And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, [12] cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, [13] cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. [Revelation 18:11-13]
All this income was lost with the sudden demise of the Roman Empire. The text of chapter 18 tells us that this happened quickly and suddenly ("in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste [Revelation 18:19 ESV] ).
But the lessons from the book of Revelation are not limited to those living in the Roman Empire in first century A.D. The New Testament is full of exhortations relating to the moral and spiritual dangers associated with material wealth. In a future blog, we are planning to consider Paul's teaching relating to materialism and its pitfalls from Paul's first letter to Timothy. Jesus told his followers that they needed to choose between serving God or serving Mammon (the personification of wealth).
[24] “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. [Matthew 6:24 ESV]
This is a challenging lighthouse verse which many Christians have ignored to their detriment as their spiritual life has been shipwrecked on the rocks of materialism and desire to be rich. Worldliness and wealth are seen as identical. The parable of Dives (the rich man) and Lazarus is a stark condemnation of those who indulged in wealth and ignored the poor (Luke 16).
The message of the book of Revelation is that Babylon has already fallen. This is known as the prophetic perfect tense where a future event is described in the past tense because its future destruction is certain because it has been decreed by God. As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to 'come out of Babylon'
[4] Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
“Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
[5] for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities. [Revelation 18:4-5
The world of Babylon is evil and contrary to God's Word. God wants his people to separate themselves from entanglement in the affairs of this world system. In the last 20 years or so, we have witnessed the downfall of politicians and celebrities who have been totally immersed in the world system. They have been totally corrupted by the moral filth of this world or they have allowed the insatiable desire for material wealth to overwhelm them and lead them into fraudulent conduct.
Darrell Johnson lists seven features of Babylon
1. Leaving the living God out of the equation.
2. Sensuality [Revelation 17:2, 4; Revelation 18:3, 9]
3. Injustice - selling slaves [Revelation 18:12-13]
4. Worship of products (we have focused on this aspect in this blog)
5. Violence - constantly preparing for war
6. Deception and counterfeit [Revelation 17:8]
7. Idolatry [Revelation 18:7]
Darrell Johnson talks about the practical challenges for the Christian to be faithful to Jesus Christ in the city (by which he is referring to our postmodern, western culture). He makes the point very powerfully that Babylon is everywhere as can be seen from verses in Revelation 17. Babylon is described as 'the great prostitute who is seated on many waters' [Revelation 17:2 ESV]. Further down the chapter John explains that 'the waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages' [Revelation 17:16]. She has political power as can be seen from the fact that she is sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and it had seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 17:3).
The lesson we need to learn is that Babylon is falling. Although the world empires seem secure, we are assured that the unholy alliance of false religion, secular power and anti-God forces are doomed to fall. We need to remind ourselves of this certainty and assess our stance in relation to the world system or the city of Babylon as presented in Revelation. Here is a prayer from Darrell Johnson which is worth reading thoughtfully or even praying privately. He is referring to the powerful way the book of Revelation challenges our thinking with wild imagery and stark choices.
Prayer:
Living God, thank you for this "literary triumph of imaginative power" (the book of Revelation). Thank you for breaking through with the truth. O Lord, have mercy. Please open our eyes; do not let us be blinded by the seductive power and pleasure. Show us where we are in bed with Babylon. Show us where we are cooperating with 'Babylonness,' or where we may even be supporting it. And grant us uncommon courage to obey your call to "come out," so that we may be a source of truth in the city. In Jesus name. Amen.
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