END OF TIME PROPHECIES 202

The anguish of the merchants of the earth          Revelation 18v11-19.

"And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore............Alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness!  For in one hour is she made desolate." 

Luxurious living       

As every business man is aware, success in trade is an all consuming occupation and the search for greater riches becomes rampant.   Great Babylon will provide a route to great riches for many people; however as we know "the love of money is the root of all evil".   To understand the success of this trade we tabulate below the goods and services which have made the merchants rich.   The description is of fabulous wealth for some by means of inflated costs.   The word "merchants" is used in Ezekiel 28v16 of Satan who is the origin of all materialism.   The age old enemy of Israel, the Cannanites, were merchant traders as per the meaning of their name.   In verses 11-13 we have a picture of future Babylon trading in luxury goods and enriching all who will do business with her.   This world trade comes under a number of headings.

• Precious metals and jewellery.        Gold, silver, precious stones, pearls.
• Bespoke tailoring.                            Fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet.
• Luxury furnishings.                        Thyine (expensive scented cedar wood), ivory, precious wood, brass, iron, and marble.
• Perfumes and spices.                      Cinnamon, incense, ointments, frankincense
• Food.                                               Wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep.
• Transportation.                               Horses and chariots.
• Human slavery.                               Controlling the bodies and souls of men..

All of the above represent only what rich people could afford and of course the future equivalent will be on a greater scale.

Lifestyle

The Holy Spirit now focuses on their lifestyle "the fruits that their souls lusted after........ the dainty things..........the goodly things," all these have now gone and will never return. They lived for material gain and sensual pleasure.   The merchants of these things are in anguish of soul because all they have worked for is gone. They have lost everything for that is what they lived for.   They stand afar off for the fear of her torment; fear and despair replace greed and desire, as seen from  the comment in verse 17  "in one hour so great riches is come to nought." It does not seem to occur to them that all the things listed above have come from the hand of God and were to be shared out equally amongst all his creatures.   The merchants saw the riches, they failed to see the God whose hand supplied them.  Materialism became their god and the true God was cast aside.

Lament

Involved in all this were all the merchants, and ships, and companies, and sailors, the sea traders, who brought exotic goods from afar, and like the merchants they wailed as they watched the end of their trade.   The lesson in this sad story, for all of us, is that material riches are not the true riches; all materials come from the hand of God and were intended for the benefit of all, not for the paradise of a few.   The world which leaves out God (humanism) and follows after riches (materialism) will come to an end.   The world at large today has forgotten that every breath we take is a gift from God, that all the food we eat would not be there but for the grace of God, the same for the clothing we wear, the same for the skills that make products for our use, the same for the genius given to mankind to harness the forces of nature for his benefit.   John the Baptist understood this when he said in John 3v27  "a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven."   When man leaves God out of their lives, God can and will remove His material blessings.   Their thinking was exposed by their statement in verse 19 "what city is like unto this great city?"   To the God of heaven a city is a very little thing; He the One to whom the nations are as a drop of a bucket in His sight!   Their eyes should have been on One so great, and not on the tiny things with which they had become so occupied.

"IN ONE HOUR SO GREAT RICHES IS COME TO NOUGHT!"

Amazon bookshelf   George Neilly