Verses 9-10 - The kings refer to include all the kings of
the earth. They all mourn because of the destruction of
Babylon. The reason they all mourn is that the means of
their control of the people and their wealth is now lost.
The point is when they see the object of their trust and the
sources of their happiness go up in smoke, they realize
wealth and fame cannot protect them from the judgments of
God. They stand afar in fear because they are afraid of
being a part of it, but very shortly there will be no
escape, for they will be gathered together with their armies
against the Lord who will slay them (Revelation 19:13).
“The great city, Babylon, the strong city,” refers to the
rebuilt city of Babylon on the Euphrates that fulfills Old
Testament Scripture as well as this passage. Contrary to
what some people believe, the city of Babylon is being
rebuilt. When the kings see its fall, they know it means the
fall of the whole system and they are amazed because of its
great strength, worldwide rule, and mighty accomplishments.
However, there is only one mighty and greater, and that is
the Lord. This warns us never put our trust in what man can
build, for no matter how great, God can destroy it in less
than an hour.
The economic character and commercialism of Babylon with its
materialistic emphasis is clearly seen by the reference to
“merchants who weep” and by the reference to the luxury
items that are mentioned. Their grief is caused by the loss
of their trade and from the luxury items that their trade
provided, but not by their love for Babylon.
What can we learn from this weeping and mourning of the
merchants? When the people of this nation fail to live by
faith and the principles of God’s Word, they will also fail
to love their nation and the biblical principles upon which
this nation was founded. When that happens, they will love
America only for what they can get out of it. We are seeing
this today.
In these verses, we see a tremendous contrast and one that
should strike a note of warning and alarm as we conduct our
lives in a world dominated by the mental attitude of
commercial Babylon. This mental attitude and control is
going to increase.
The world weeps over the destruction of Babylon and the loss
of its material luxuries. By contrast, the believer must
come out of the world that is controlled by Satan. We can
use the world, enjoy the blessings God gives, but God forbid
that such things become our source of security and
happiness. Further, the believer must rejoice over the
prospect of the fall of commercial Babylon because of what
this means to God and to all humanity in the coming kingdom
of heaven. The kings, the merchants, and the mariners wail
over the passing of Babylon, but heaven and its people
rejoice and find strength over the prospect of its fall and
the coming of the kingdom of heaven.
God’s people are to find joy in the prospects of Babylon’s
overthrow and in the actual occurrence when it is brought to
pass at the end of the Tribulation. However, God’s commands
are never without reason. So we read next “because God has
pronounced judgment for you.” The idea is that God has
judged your case against her and executed a just penalty.
Babylon has been the cause of much misery and pain for the
people of God, but they can rejoice because God has not
forgotten His people nor Babylon’s evil.
In his vision, John sees a mighty angel throw a stone, one
like a great millstone, into the sea. This represents the
downfall of the great city; it will be sudden as when a
stone falls into the sea, suddenly, with a splash. Such a
great stone, like a meteor, would cause tidal waves that
move across land destroying everything in their path. Like a
stone which is cast into the sea and sinks out of sight, so
the destruction of Babylon will be so complete that it will
be found no more, never to rise again (Jeremiah 51:61-64).
This is the primary emphasis. Babylon will be found no more,
not in any form. This is stressed seven times in chapter 18.
Remember that seven is used repeatedly to stress the concept
of completeness.
Verses 22 and 23 enlarge on the extent of the cessation of
Babylon and her activity that characterizes her life and
luxurious living; first, there will no longer be music and
entertainers. The commercial and business world uses music
and entertainers to promote sales and attract attention to
their products. Hotels, motels, bars, lounges, and other
establishments provided music and entertainers for their
clients.
Second. No more craftsmen and the sound of a mill, means
that the wheels of industry will come to a halt.
Third, no more grinding of grain, means food supply, which
at that point is already in short supply, will now disappear
altogether.
Fourth, the lights will go out, means the loss of the means
for producing electricity.
Fifth, the voice of the bride and bridegroom and their
parties will cease. From this reference, it appears that
Babylon will become a famous place for weddings and
honeymooners. However, Babylon will be a place where the
marriage covenant will be a temporary contract. As Christ
prophesied, men and women will be marrying and remarrying
without any real concern for marriage as a divine
institution of God. When marriage is entered into it will be
a mere convenience if they bother to marry at all (Matthew
24:38). Life during the Tribulation will go on as usual in
spite of its judgments, which shows just how callused man
will become and how much he will be enslaved in the luxuries
and pleasures of the world. Then, suddenly it is all over.
