Revelation Chapter 18:9-17

(*All Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise noted)

The kings of the earth mourned as they witnessed the crumbling of the mighty Roman Empire that had supported them. If we walk without God and the bottom drops out of the net of material security we think is holding us up, despair often follows.

Faithful believers learn from experience that true hope and security resides in a loving God:

Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Matt 6:31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ …33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

2Pet 1:2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

The wealth and decadence of the Roman Empire is a perfect symbol of the lure that Satan dangles before man in every age¹.

Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”  10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ”

But prosperity will eventually crumble under the weight of greed and avarice.

Isaiah 3:18 In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, 19 the earrings and bracelets and veils, 20 the headdresses and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, 21 the signet rings and nose rings, 22 the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses 23 and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.  24 Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a sash, a rope; instead of well-dressed hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, branding.  25 Your men will fall by the sword, your warriors in battle.  26 The gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.

Rome traded wine, oil, grain, salt, arms, and iron to its provinces, primarily countries in the West. Around the 2nd century AD, as those areas became increasingly destabilized by Germanic invasions and rebellions, the trade between them and the Roman Empire slowed significantly³.

The merchants were middlemen who sold a wide variety of goods from around the world: expensive gems, materials for the finest clothing, furniture made of exquisite marble and wood, coveted spices, luxury food items, animals, and chariots (v.13). Slaves were a huge part of the economy. Some staffed the large households of the rich, others filled their brothels, and still others provided bloody sport in the arenas⁴. Many first-century Christians were among the slave population and would have taken great satisfaction in the ultimate ruin of those who trafficked in their misery⁵.

Ezek 27:28 The shorelands will quake when your sailors cry out.  29 All who handle the oars will abandon their ships; the mariners and all the sailors will stand on the shore.  30 They will raise their voice and cry bitterly over you; they will sprinkle dust on their heads and roll in ashes.  31 They will shave their heads because of you and will put on sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and with bitter mourning.  32 As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament concerning you: “Who was ever silenced like Tyre, surrounded by the sea?”  33 When your merchandise went out on the seas, you satisfied many nations; with your great wealth and your wares you enriched the kings of the earth.  34 Now you are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your wares and all your company have gone down with you.  35 All who live in the coast lands are appalled at you; their kings shudder with horror and their faces are distorted with fear.  36 The merchants among the nations scoff at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’ ”

While Ezekiel was prophesying about the fall of the mighty city of Tyre, consider his words from a personal perspective. When the economy tanks, what happens to a salesperson or a business owner who feels that their sole security in life is the making of money?  If a person’s perception of security is completely dependent on the acquisition of wealth rather than a trusting relationship with God, when that “security blanket” is swept away by the loss of a job – when bankruptcy looms, and the stock market numbers spiral downward, they are left adrift in a sea of fear and panic.

Matt 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

In contrast, consider the comfort faithful believers take in the promises of a loving God:

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

Notice that the wealth of the crumbling “great city” is described in almost the exact terms as the “great prostitute” (17:4).  The merchants of the Empire bought and sold goods from around the world. Their cargo included animals, luxury foods, jewels, silk, the finest clothing, marble, wood furniture, expensive spices, and luxury foods.

Silk is commonplace now, but in the Rome of John’s day, it was almost beyond price. It had to be imported from far-off China and was so costly that a pound of silk was sold for a pound weight of gold⁹.

The Greek word soma translates as bodies or human beings¹⁰. The slave market was called the somatemporos – literally, the “place where bodies were sold”. The idea was that the slave was sold body and soul into the possession of his master.

As the Empire destabilized, social conditions did also. The Christian church and its stand on human bondage gradually altered the mindset of many. Even greater were the economic and military conditions of the time. As the Empire’s focus slowly changed from conquest to border defense, the continual mass influx of new slave labor slowed dramatically¹³.

The cost in human lives, physically, morally, and spiritually, is incalculable.

Throughout history, war, politics, and poor economic decisions have contributed to the downfall of many dominant nations. These factors have led to the collapse of governments, widespread hunger, and revolutions that have altered the course of history.

Prov 15:6  The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings ruin.

Matt 6:19  Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.  25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

If God isn’t central to a person’s life, what fills that void? If the love of God and others is not their motivating passion, what’s left to be devoted to? The images John is seeing, while specifically calling out the sin of the Roman world, apply just as powerfully to any point in history. 

Political and economic collapse has been a common occurrence throughout history. Empires have come and gone for various reasons, whether by the conquest by more powerful nations or by the internal erosion of corruption and poor leadership.

Around 2350 BC, The Akkadian Empire absorbed ancient Mesopotamia and became the first multi-national political entity in the world.

The cycle of rising and falling has been repeated by economic catastrophes:

• The Medici Bank, one of the most respected banks in the history of the world, imploded in 1494 due to corruption and political intrigue¹⁴.
• Spain conquered the peoples of Peru, enslaving them in gold and silver mines. Spain imported huge and unexpected supplies of bullion to all of Europe, causing massive price inflation. By 1596, the economic strain, high taxes, and foreign wars bankrupted the Spanish crown¹⁵.  
• America’s first financial crash occurred in 1792. Bank stocks failed, loans were defaulted on, and prices fell, causing a run on the banks.
• The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that deeply affected every sector of the economy and politics. European investors panicked and started a run on gold in the U.S. Treasury, leading people to hoard gold and reject paper notes.
• After World War One, industries collapsed in Russia, and the nation was nearly bankrupt. This led to a surge in strikes and riots throughout the country, contributing to revolution and the rise of Communism.
• The world’s biggest economic disaster occurred on October 29, 1929¹⁶. A sharp decline in U.S. stock values caused the market to spiral downward out of control. Billions of dollars were lost, and thousands lost their investments, jobs, life savings, and homes. The United States and the rest of the industrialized world quickly entered the Great Depression, which was the most severe and long-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world¹⁷.
• In 2007 and 2008, the collapse of the inflated housing market in the U.S. led to severe liquidity contractions in global financial markets. This posed a threat to the international financial system and led to the failure or near-failure of several major investment, commercial, and mortgage banks. It ultimate¹⁸.

 Trust in financial security is a fickle proposition! Trust in God is rock solid!

Matt 6:25 “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

John is told three times that desolation is to be accomplished in “one hour” (vs. 10, 17, 19). It’s interesting to note that the “ten kings” and the “beast” of Rev 17:12-14 received authority for “one hour”to wage war on the Lamb and persecute the saints. This is now balanced by one hour of judgment.

Jer 30:15 Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you.

Jer 40:3 And now the LORD has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the LORD and did not obey him.

First, the kings uttered their lament over Rome, then the merchants, and now the shipmasters. While the complete fall of the Western Roman Empire took several hundred years, in the context of historical and geological time, it was a mere moment. Similarly, Israel and Jerusalem were obliterated in a historical instant. In the modern era, communism reigned supreme in Russia for over seventy years (1917-1991) and saw itself as the arch-enemy of Western democracy, yet it collapsed in a matter of months.

Psa 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Psa 25:1 In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.

Footnotes

1. The decadence of Rome is well documented in such books as Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius, by Samuel Dill, and Roman Life and Manners, by Ludwig Friedlander. Many Roman citizens were appalled by Rome’s excesses, as expressed in the Satires of Juvenal, the Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius, and the histories of Tacitus. ↩︎
2. West, Louis C. (November 1932). “The Economic Collapse of the Roman Empire”. The Classical Journal. 28 (2): 98. JSTOR 3290252. ↩︎
3. Ibid. ↩︎
4. Henry B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, Macmillan, New York, 1906, p. 234. ↩︎
5. Rydelnik and Vanlaningham. The Moody Bible Commentary (p. 5001). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition. ↩︎
6. Phoenicia, phoinos: http://www.whowerethephoenicians.com/wp-content/uploads/book/phenicos_new%20(2)_p215-p217.pdf, retrieved March 5, 2023. ↩︎
7. Mark Cartwright, Tyrian Purple, 21 July 2016, https://www.worldhistory.org/Tyrian_Purple/, retrieved February 23, 2024. ↩︎
8. Artesanos Naturales, Tyrian Purple, https://www.borucacostarica.org/tyrian-purple/, accessed February 23, 2024. ↩︎
9. Mark Cartwright, Silk in Antiquity, World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org/Silk/, accessed February 23, 2024. ↩︎
10. Strong’s Greek 4983. ↩︎
11. History of Ancient Rome, Slavery, https://www.unrv.com/slavery.php, accessed June 17, 2023. ↩︎
12. Ibid. ↩︎
13. Ibid. ↩︎
14. Ben Duronio, The Greatest Economic Collapses in History, Jul 3, 2012, https://www.businessinsider.com/the-greatest-economic-collapses-in-world-history-2012-7?op=1#the-medici-bank-a-lack-of-focus-by-the-principal-of-one-of-the-worlds-biggest-banks-leads-to-its-demise-1, Accessed June 29, 2024. ↩︎
15. Ibid. ↩︎
16. Financial Crises, The Economist, https://www.economist.com/news/essays/21600451-finance-not-merely-prone-crises-it-shaped-them-five-historical-crises-show-how-aspects-today-s-fina, accessed May 20, 2024. ↩︎
17. Ibid. ↩︎
18. Britannica Money, https://www.britannica.com/money/financial-crisis-of-2007-2008/Effects-and-aftermath-of-the-crisis, retrieved May 20, 2024. ↩︎

*All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™