Revelation 18:7-14

(Rev 18:7 KJV)
How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

This verse is a basic list of indictments against the kingdom of Satan. First, this kingdom has glorified itself. In the temptation of Christ, Satan had offered Him the kingdoms of the world if He would worship him. The glory of the earth is the riches that it holds and Satan had thought that it was his to dole out as he pleased to his followers. Satan has held up his kingdom as if it were the glory of all the universe. If you notice that this verse is telling us that Babylon had glorified itself and another did not glorify it. In fact, the word “hath glorified” means “ascribe glory to, honor, or praise.” The world system praises itself because it believes it stands in rulership over the kingdom of God. In Isaiah 14, Satan believed that he would ascend to the heights of the clouds. In other words, that he would be supreme ruler over the world and all the inhabitants.

Satan’s kingdom also had great luxuries of this world and this kingdom offers the best of the earth to those who will follow the beast system. Some of the wealthiest people on earth have gained their wealth through nefarious business dealings and have succeeded to corner much of the world’s wealth. For this kingdom to live as luxuriously as it has, God has decreed that the torment and sorrow that she will suffer will be equal to the lavish lifestyle she has enjoyed.

The arrogance of this kingdom is equal to the arrogance of its founder. The kingdom states in its heart that she is a queen and is no widow. In Isaiah 14:13, the Bible tells us that Satan had also said in his heart that he would rule this world as it lists the five “I wills” which makes what he is saying from a heart of pride and arrogance. Babylon also states that she is not a widow.

(Isa 47:7-9 KJV) And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. {8} Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: {9} But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

In Isaiah 47:7-9, we see the same arrogance of this kingdom. It believes it will go on forever and that it will never lose any of its lovers, which are those who dwell upon the earth. Every time a person becomes truly saved the kingdom of Satan is plundered and it loses one of its children. This kingdom also claims it will see no sorrow. This kingdom’s sorrows will come in a very short period of time and the sorrows will be in the form of complete destruction. The kingdom of Satan may sit as a queen thinking that she is a sovereign ruler, but shortly she will know that it is not her that is the true ruler but the Lamb of God.

(Rev 18:8 KJV)
Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

God states that Babylon will be destroyed in one day and that destruction will be death which will create much mourning and famine. The one day does not necessarily mean a 24 hour period but it can mean signify an instant destruction or a little longer time period, either way the destruction of Babylon will be swift. The mourning and famine will be seen in later verses where the merchants of the earth who placed their faith in this system, will now watch it as it is destroyed by fire. Those who once lived greatly within the kingdom of Satan will now be stripped of all those goods which made them think that they would go on forever. (Psa 49:11 KJV) Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. The unbeliever may hope that their houses will continue forever but there is going to come a day when the last one will become saved and then the end shall come and that includes the end of the houses of the unbelievers. We also read in this verse that Babylon will be utterly burned. This carries with it the meaning of “ to be consumed completely.” Then we read that strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. The word “strong” carries with it the meaning of “powerful, mighty, and able.” This tells us that Babylon will not go down by attrition but God Himself is judging it and will result in total destruction.

(Rev 18:9 KJV)
And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Here is the first of the earth’s inhabitants making a lamentation over the destruction of Babylon. First, there are the kings of the earth, those who had run the nations of the world will now see that what they placed their faith in was now being destroyed by God whom they spurned and rejected. Now this verse does not state that only those kings of the earth who are living in the last days will see the destruction of the kingdom of Satan but at this point, we are seeing the world under final judgment which means that all the unbelievers who have been in their graves since the beginning of time have now been raised from their graves and are now standing for judgment. Before they are judged for their sins, they are now seeing the destruction of the kingdom they placed their trust in. Since that kingdom could not save them, they are bewailing (weeping) and lamenting (mourning) her because they know that if this kingdom cannot stand and is able to be judged, then they know what lies ahead for them. Especially since they can see the smoke from the great burning which is taking place, they now are fully realizing the end is at hand.

(Rev 18:10 KJV)
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

As they are ready for judgment, they stand afar off before the judgment seat of Christ, for the fear of her torment as they see Babylon being tormented in the same manner she tormented the people of God. The day of her final judgment has come. In verse 8, we read that her judgment had come in one day but here we are reading in one hour. This means that her judgment will be swift and complete. As the kings of the earth cry out in torment themselves, all their hopes are now up in smoke as the end is here.

(Rev 18:11 KJV)
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

The second lamentation over Babylon is by those who were the merchants of the world. They made their luxurious living out of the kingdom of Satan and just as the kings of the earth, they too placed their trust in this system. Normally when a person is making a lot of money there is no place for God in their lives. This is why these people are lamenting over Babylon, because what they placed their trust in has now been judged and has come to its final end. No longer do they cry out, “who can make war with the beast?” They now weep and mourn because as the great city of Babylon is doomed, so are they. No more merchandise can be sold because there is no more market. The end has come for the merchants too.

(Rev 18:12-14 KJV)
{12} The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, {13} And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. {14} And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

Here is the reason that the merchants have wailed because the earth which the Lord created had produced so much bounty. These three verses have basically named some of the biggest industries of the ancient world and also of the modern world. The only difference between the ancient world and modern world is that in the modern world we have different methods of production. Let us look at a few of these industries which today are multi-billion dollar industries and some are multi-trillion dollar industries.

-Gold, silver, precious stones, pearls - Financial markets worldwide
-Fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet - Clothing industry worldwide
-Thyine wood - A wood from Africa known for its citrus aroma and its beauty - The furniture and building industry
-Vessels of Ivory - Costly plates and statues
-Precious wood - Furniture and Building industry
-Brass and Iron - The metallurgical industry and building industry
-Marble - Expensive embellishments for the building trades
-Cinnamon, oil, wheat, and fine flour - The Foods industry
-Odours, ointments, frankincense - The cosmetics industry
-Wine - The Alcohol industry
-Beasts and sheep and horses - The livestock industry for food
-Chariots - The military establishment and in modern times the automobile industry
-Fruits - The fruit industry which supplies to stores, ice cream plants, candy makers, etc.
-Slaves - In the Roman empire there were approximately 60 million slaves. Today we would call them employees or the labor market and