Mourning the End of Evil?!?

Revelation 18:9-24

⁹And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. ¹⁰They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas! Alas! You great city,

you mighty city, Babylon!

For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

¹¹And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, ¹²cargo 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, ¹³cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. ¹⁴“The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!” 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!

¹⁷For 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 ¹⁸and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?” ¹⁹And 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!”

²¹Then 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; ²²and 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, ²³and 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. ²⁴And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.”

For some, the human soul is so completely sold out to evil that they will actually mourn the destruction of the demonic harlot. The scene described in this chapter is appalling. The “merchants”, “sea captains”, and “mariners” represent the evil kings, rulers, and opportunists who profit from the ways of the harlot. They will mourn the passing of their money making opportunities with great wailing and sorrow. With instruction from God the mighty angel throws a great millstone into the sea and Babylon is finally ended. As that stone drops to the bottom of the sea so too goes the harlot (Babylon). That reign of terror, destruction, and opportunism is completely and finally defeated. Only yet to be dealt with is the Red Dragon, Satan himself.

The whole chapter is good news for the believer. Evil will finally realize that the victory won on the Cross of Jesus Christ is real and final. For those who are interested, I have included a note from Dr. Brighton that expands on these concepts as they are also found in Ezekiel 27 & 28. If you want to go and read these chapters, you will be blessed with even more information. I am personally totally blown away by the fact that Ezekiel was inspired to pen these words so very long ago.

“The parallels between Revelation 18 and Ezekiel 27 are laden with theological significance and extend beyond mere verbal similarities. In the context of Ezekiel, the lament in chapter 27 is good news for God’s people. The first half of the book, Ezekiel 1–24, is almost all Law as God reprimands his people for their sin, on account of which he will allow Babylon to destroy and exile Judah. But after that fateful day when Jerusalem is destroyed (Ezekiel 24), the prophet then is given oracles announcing the demise of Judah’s enemies (Ezekiel 25–32). These are then followed by Gospel promises of restoration and eternal life for God’s faithful in a rebuilt Jerusalem (Ezekiel 33–48). Much of the language and imagery in Ezekiel 40–48 will be repeated in Revelation 21–22. The major difference is that the OT prophet envisions heaven as a restored and rearranged Israel whose center is a new temple, while the scene in Revelation 21–22 lacks a temple (21:22) because Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice had already taken place. But the important similarity is that within the context of each entire book, the laments over Judah’s enemies (Ezekiel 25–32) and the ruin of Babylon (Revelation 18) both are good news for God’s people, and both prepare for the inauguration of the eternal dwelling place of God with his people.”

Brighton, L. A. (1999). Revelation. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.