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SERIES: THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, WEEK 70

TITLE: THE FLEETING NATURE OF RICHES

TEXT: REVELATION 18:11-20

INTRODUCTION: (1) PROVERBS 23:4&5 SAYS: (QUOTE THEM).

* NOW THE TRUTHS OF THESE VERSES ARE, DON’T WEAR YOURSELF OUT TO BE RICH, DON’T PURSUE RICHES, DON’T WORK TO BE RICH, FOR RICHES ARE TEMPORARY, HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW.

** IN OTHER WORDS RICHES DO NOT BRING SECURITY, FOR RICHES CAN BE LOST QUICKLY THROUGH THEFT, ECONOMIC DISASTER, BAD INVESTMENTS AND EXTRAVAGANCES.

*** RICHES ARE MOMENTARY, HERE ONE DAY, FLYING AWAY ANOTHER LIKE AN EAGLE TOWARD HEAVEN.

**** SO THE REPEATED WARNING IN SCRIPTURE IS DON’T PUT YOUR TRUST IN RICHES, DON’T ALLOW YOUR SENSE OF SECURITY TO PROCEED FROM THEM AND DON’T PURSUE THEM.

(2) FOR UNDERSTAND, IT IS NOT A SIN TO BE RICH, BUT IT IS A SIN TO WANT TO BE RICH.

* AND IF WE WORK HARD AND HONESTLY AND TO GOD’S GLORY AND BECOME WEALTHY IN THE PROCESS, GREAT!

** BUT IF WE SET OUR MINDS ON GETTING RICH, WE HAVE THE WRONG MOTIVATION.

*** IN FACT, PAUL TOLD TIMOTHY THIS IN I TIMOTHY 6:6-8 AND I TIMOTHY 6:10&11 (QUOTE THEM).

**** NOW OUR PURSUIT SHOULD BE GODLINESS, FOR GODLINESS WITH CONTENTMENT IS REAL GAIN, TRUE GAIN.

(3) BUT IF ALONG THE WAY TO BECOMING A GODLY PERSON WE BECOME RICH, PRAISE THE LORD, USE YOUR RICHES FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!

* AND THAT IS THE INSTRUCTION THAT PAUL GIVES TO RICH PEOPLE IN I TIMOTHY 6:17-19, WHERE HE SAID:

V. 17 – “INSTRUCT THOSE WHO ARE RICH IN THIS PRESENT WORLD NOT TO BE CONCEITED OR TO FIX THEIR HOPE ON THE UNCERTAINTY OF RICHES, BUT ON GOD, WHO RICHLY SUPPLIES US WITH ALL THINGS TO ENJOY.

V. 18 – INSTRUCT THEM TO DO GOOD, TO BE RICH IN GOOD WORKS, TO BE GENEROUS AND READY TO SHARE,

V. 19 – STORING UP FOR THEMSELVES THE TREASURE OF A GOOD FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE, SO THAT THEY MAY TAKE HOLD OF THAT WHICH IS LIFE INDEED.

** NOW THIS INSTRUCTION BY PAUL TO RICH PEOPLE SHOW THERE WERE RICH PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS WHERE TIMOTHY WAS AT THE TIME OF THE WRITING OF I TIMOTHY.

*** AND MATERIAL WEALTH IS TO BE USED TO PERFORM GOOD WORK OR BEHALF OF OTHER AND FOR CHRIST’S KINGDOM.

**** AND RATHER THAN TRUSTING IN RICHES, BELIEVERS – TRUE CHRISTIANS ARE TO FIX THEIR HOPE ON GOD, ON CHRIST, WHO SUPPLIES OUR NEEDS AND HE IS OUR SECURITY AND PROVISION.

(4) NOW THESE KINDS OF WARNINGS AND ILLUSTRATIONS ARE NUMEROUS IN THE BIBLE, THEY ARE REPEATED.

* LET ME GIVE YOU A FEW: QUOTE LUKE 12:15, HEBREWS 11:24-26, HEBREWS 13:5&6, PROVERBS 11:28, PSALM 119:14.

** AND THEN WE HAVE THIS WARNING FROM SOLOMON, ONE OF THE RICHEST MEN EVER TO LIVE IN ECCLESIASTES 5:10-17 –

V. 10 – HE WHO LOVES MONEY WILL NOT BE SATISFIED WITH MONEY, NOR HE WHO LOVES ABUNDANCE WITH ITS INCOME. THIS TOO IS VANITY.

V. 11 – WHEN GOOD THINGS INCREASE, THOSE WHO CONSUME THEM INCREASE. SO WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE TO THEIR OWNERS EXCEPT TO LOOK ON?

V. 12 – THE SLEEP OF THE WORKING MAN IS PLEASANT, WHETHER HE EATS LITTLE OR MUCH; BUT THE FULL STOMACH OF THE RICH MAN DOES NOT ALLOW HIM TO SLEEP.

V. 13 – THERE IS A GRIEVOUS EVIL WHICH I HAVE SEEN UNDER THE SUN: RICHES BEING HOARDED BY THEIR OWNER TO HIS HURT.

V. 14 – WHEN THOSE RICHES WERE LOST THROUGH A BAD INVESTMENT AND HE HAD FATHERED A SON, THEN THERE WAS NOTHING TO SUPPORT HIM.

V. 15 – AS HE HAD COME NAKED FROM HIS MOTHER’S WOMB, SO WILL HE RETURN AS HE CAME. HE WILL TAKE NOTHING FROM THE FRUIT OF HIS LABOR THAT HE CAN CARRY IN HIS HAND.

V. 16 – THIS ALSO IS A GRIEVOUS EVIL – EXACTLY AS A MAN IS BORN, THUS WILL HE DIE. SO WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE TO HIM WHO TOILS FOR THE WIND?

V. 17 – THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE HE ALSO EATS IN DARKNESS WITH GREAT VEXATION, SICKNESS AND ANGER.

*** NOW THE WARNING IS CLEAR FROM SOLOMON AND THE REST OF SCRIPTURE, DON’T LOVE, LIVE OR LONG FOR RICHES, THEY WON’T SATISFY YOU.

**** PLUS THE TEMPORARY NATURE OF THEM, THEY CAN FLY AWAY QUICKLY.

(5) WELL THOSE WARNINGS LEAD TO OUR TEXT TODAY. FOR IN REVELATION 18 WE SEE MONARCHS, MERCHANTS AND MARINERS WHO PUT THEIR TRUST IN GOLD OVER GOD, WHO ARE FOLLOWING THE FINAL WORLD RULER CALLED THE BEAST ANTICHRIST TOWARD THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION ON THE EARTH BEFORE THE RETURN OF CHRIST TO THE EARTH.

* AND THEY ARE INVOLVED IN AN ECONOMIC COMMERCIAL SYSTEM UNDER THE ANTICHRIST CALLED BABYLON.

** AND BABYLON IS THE CENTER, THE HEART, THE WORLD HEADQUARTERS OF THIS ECONOMIC SYSTEM. IT WILL BE A LITERAL CITY THAT THE FINANCIAL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, THE WALL STREET OF THE WORLD.

*** BUT WHILE BABYLON WILL BE AN ACTUAL CITY, IT’S INFLUENCE WILL BE WORLDWIDE AS ANTICHRIST’S CAPITAL CITY, THE HUB OF WORLD COMMERCE.

**** AND REVELATION CHAPTER 18 TALKS ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF THIS CITY THUS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD ECONOMY THAT HAS SURVIVED THROUGH THE JUDGMENTS OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION.

(6) AND THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON WILL DESTROY THE WORLD’S ECONOMY UNDER ANTICHRIST, KILLING THE HEAD. BABYLON WILL BRING DEATH TO THE REST OF THE BODY OF ANTICHRIST’S WORLD EMPIRE WHICH WILL LEAD US TO REVELATION 19 WHERE THE KING OF KINGS RETURNS TO SET UP HIS KINGDOM AND EMPIRE.

* AND SPECIFICALLY IN OUR TEXT TODAY, WE SEE THE MERCHANTS OF THE WORLD AND THE MARINERS OF THE WORLD-THE SHIPPING PEOPLE WHO USE THE SEAS OF THE WORLD, MOURN OVER THE CITY OF BABYLON’S DESTRUCTION BY GOD.

** FOR THEIR RICHES AND LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS GO UP IN SMOKE. BUT IN CONTRAST HEAVEN IS CALLED TO REJOICE WITH THIS JUDGMENT.

*** IN LIGHT OF THAT, I’VE TITLED OUR STUDY TODAY, “THE FLEETING NATURE OF RICHES.”

**** AND UNDER THAT THEME WE’LL LOOK AT 5 THINGS AS WE WORK OUR WAY THROUGH REVELATION 18:11-20.

(7) NO. 1 WE’LL SEE THE MOURNING IN V. 11; NO. 2 THE MERCHANDISE IN VV. 12-14; NO. 3 THE MERCHANTS IN VV. 15-17A; NO. 4 THE MARINERS, VV. 17B-19; AND NO. 5 THE MARTYRS, V. 20.

* AND WITH THAT OUTLINE AS OUR GUIDE, LOOK AT V. 11 PLEASE WHERE WE’LL SEE OUR FIRST POINT TODAY, THE MOURNING. LOOK AT REVELATION 18:11 PLEASE.

I. THE MOURNING, (READ V. 11)

A. NOW THE MERCHANTS OF THE EARTH ARE IDENTIFIED AS THE MOURNERS HERE.

* AND THE WORD MERCHANT IS THE GREEK WORD IM-POR-OCE FROM WHICH WE GET OUR ENGLISH WORD EMPORIUM WHICH IS A STORE THAT SELLS A GREAT VARIETY OF ARTICLES OR A COMMERCIAL CENTER, A TRADING PLACE.

** WELL, FROM THIS WORD AND WHAT FOLLOWS WE SEE THAT THE MERCHANTS ARE THE BULK BUYERS, THE GREAT WHOLESALERS OF THE WORLD.

*** THEY ARE NOT THE SHOP KEEPERS BUT THE MANAGING DIRECTORS OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PEOPLE BEHIND WORLD COMMERCE.

**** AND THESE PEOPLE LIKE THE MONARCHS OF VV. 9&10 WILL WEEP AND MOURN OVER THE QUICK DESTRUCTION AND JUDGMENT OF BABYLON GOING BACK TO VV. 9&10.

1. AND WEEPING MEANS TO BEWAIL, TO LAMENT, LOUD WAILING, NOT SILENT WEEPING, AND TO MOURN HERE MEANS TO GRIEVE, GENERALLY TO BE SAD OR SORROWFUL, EVEN MOURNING OVER SOMEONE THAT HAS DIED.

* NOW THE REASON FOR THE MERCHANTS WEEPING AND MOURNING IS GIVEN AT THE END OF V. 11, “BECAUSE NO ONE BUYS THEIR CARGOES ANYMORE.”

** SO THEIR SORROW COMES FROM THEIR SELFISHNESS, THEIR FINANCIAL LOSS BRINGS THEIR MOURNING, THEY ARE NOT MOURNING THE CITY IN LOSS OF LIVES, BUT LOSS OF DOLLARS.

*** THESE PEOPLE KNOW THAT WITH THE LOSS OF BABYLON WORLD COMMERCE WILL COLLAPSE AND THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SELL THEIR GOODS.

**** AND WHATEVER ECONOMIC ACTIVITY HAD BEEN TAKING PLACE UNDER THE DIFFICULTIES BROUGHT ON BY THE SEAL, TRUMPET AND BOWL JUDGMENTS, NOW ALL COMMERCE WILL COME TO A HALT, THE GREAT DEPRESSION WILL LOOK LIKE A TIME OF PROSPERITY IN COMPARISON.

2. SO THE MERCHANTS MOURN OVER THEIR CARGOES THAT ARE UNSELLABLE, AND VV. 12&13 GIVE US AN INVENTORY OF THE MERCHANDISE THAT THOSE MERCHANTS SOLD, LOOK AT V. 12 PLEASE WHERE WE’LL START TO SEE OUR 2’D POINT TODAY.

II. THE MERCHANDISE, (READ V. 12)

A. NOW IN VV. 12&13 WE HAVE A LIST OF 28 ITEMS OF MERCHANDISE THAT MAKES UP THE LIST OF THE CARGOES THESE MERCHANTS WERE SELLING.

* AND THIS LIST CONSISTS OF CATEGORIES OF MERCHANDISE THAT COMPRISED THE MERCHANT’S CARGOES.

** AND THESE THINGS, THESE ARTICLES DIVIDE THEMSELVES INTO 8 CATEGORIES IN VV. 12&13 AND I’M GOING TO DIVIDE THEM UP FOR YOU INTO 8 AREAS OF MARKETING OR SEVEN STORES WHICH I AM GOING TO FLY THROUGH.

*** NO. 1 FROM THE JEWELRY STORE OR THE INVESTMENT MARKET WE HAVE GOLD, SILVER, PRECIOUS STONES AND PEARLS.

**** NO. 2 FROM THE CLOTHING STORE, THE COMMODITIES MARKET WE HAVE FINE LINEN, PURPLE WHICH WAS A KIND OF ROYAL CLOTHING DYED IN PURPLE, SILK AND SCARLET CLOTH.

1. NO. 3 FROM THE FURNITURE STORE, THE MATERIALS MARKET WE HAVE CITRON WOOD, AN EXPENSIVE WOOD FROM NORTH AFRICA USED FOR FINE FURNITURE, IVORY AND COSTLY WOOD WHICH WOULD BE A MORE GENERAL TERM FOR WOOD WHICH MIGHT HAVE INCLUDED CEDAR AND EBONY.

* NO. 4 FROM THE INTERIOR DECORATORS STORES WE HAVE BRONZE, IRON AND MARBLE, WHICH LEADS US TO V. 13. LOOK AT V. 13 PLEASE.

B. READ V. 13. NOW NEXT THE MERCHANDISE COMES FROM NO. 5 THE PERFUME STORE, FROM THE LUXURY MARKET, CINNAMON, SPICE, INCENSE, MYRRH AND FRANKINCENSE.

* NO. 6 FROM THE FOOD STORE, THE FOOD MARKET COMES WINE, OLIVE OIL, FINE FLOUR AND WHEAT FOR BREAD.

** NO. 7 FROM THE ANIMAL STORE, THE LIVESTOCK MARKET COMES CATTLE, SHEEP, HORSES AND CARRIAGES.

*** AND NO. 8 FROM THE MANPOWER MARKET, FROM THE SLAVE MARKET COMES SLAVES AND HUMAN LIVES, WHICH COULD MEAN A RESUMPTION OF SLAVERY WORLD-WIDE DURING THIS TIME, FOR CERTAINTY THERE ARE SEVERAL FORMS OF IT WORLDWIDE NOW.

**** OR IT MAY MAKE REFERENCE THAT BABYLON HAS COMPLETE CONTROL OF PEOPLE AS THEY WILL THROUGH THE MARK OF THE BEAST GOING BACK TO CHAPTER 13.

1. FOR WITHOUT THAT MARK, 666, PEOPLE CANNOT BUY OR SELL IN REVELATION 13:17&18.

* AND UNDER BABYLON’S INFLUENCE AND ANTICHRIST’S LEADERSHIP, BUSINESSES MAY LITERALLY TAKE CONTROL OVER A PERSON’S BODY AND SOUL, PEOPLE ARE “OWNED” BY THE COMPANY, THE STATE, AND EITHER INTERPRETATION WORKS HERE, LITERALLY OR FIGURATIVELY.

** NOW IN SUMMARY IN THE LIST OF MERCHANDISE IN VV. 12&13, JOHN PHILIPS SAYS THIS IN HIS COMMENTARY ON REVELATION AND I QUOTE:

*** “WHAT A CATALOG OF OPULENCE! WHAT A VIVID PICTURE OF A GREAT, COMMERCIAL CITY, TRAFFICKING IN EVERY LUXURY THE HEART COULD DESIRE.

**** THIS IS THE WORLD’S GREAT VANITY FAIR. IT OFFERS ARTICLES OF ADORNMENT AND DISPLAY, BEAUTIFUL THINGS TO GRACE THE MANSIONS OF THE WORLD’S MILLIONAIRES. IT DEALS IN EXOTIC SPICES AND PERFUMES, IN DELICACIES FOR THE TABLE, IN PROVISIONS FOR BANQUETS, IN SLAVES, AND IN THE SOULS OF MEN.

2. AND BABYLON IMPORTED ALL THESE THINGS…BABYLON’S DEMAND FOR THIS WORLD’S GOODS WAS INSATIABLE; EVEN IT CLAMORED FOR MORE AND MORE!” (END QUOTE)

* SO IN SUMMARY, THIS MERCHANDISE LIST WHICH PROBABLY REPRESENTS THE TOTALITY OF THEIR MERCHANDISE WAS PRIMARILY USED FOR LUXURY ITEMS, ALTHOUGH SOME NECESSITIES ARE INCLUDED.

** BUT ON THE WHOLE OPULENCE IS COMMUNICATED WHICH WOULD TRANSLATE INTO BIG BUCKS, BIG PROFITS. SO THIS IS THE REASON THE MERCHANT’S MOURN, WHICH IS FURTHER DEVELOPED IN V. 14. LOOK AT V. 14 PLEASE.

C. READ V. 14. NOW IN V. 14 THE INHABITANTS OF THIS FUTURE BABYLON ARE ADDRESSED DIRECTLY.

* AND WHAT THEY HAD LONGED FOR, AND THE VERB LONG FOR LIT. MEANS A STRONG DESIRE, WHAT THEY CRAVED FOR, WHAT THEY LUSTED FOR, WILL BE NO LONGER.

** IN OTHER WORDS, THE FRUIT, THE THINGS THEY LUSTED AFTER WHICH ARE DEFINED HERE IN V. 14, LUXURIOUS THINGS, SPLENDID THINGS ARE GONE, THEY HAVE PASSED AWAY NO LONGER TO BE FOUND.

*** THEIR GOURMET TASTES WILL NO LONGER BE SATISFIED, THEIR DESIRE FOR PLEASURE WILL NO LONGER BE FULFILLED.

**** FOR AT THE END OF V. 14 THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT VERBS THAT CLEARLY SPEAK THAT THESE ITEMS ARE GONE FOREVER – “THEY HAVE PASSED AWAY” AND MEN “WILL NO LONGER FIND THEM.”

1. AND BELOVED, THE VERY THINGS OF LUXURY AND PLEASURE FOR WHICH MEN SOLD THEMSELVES BODY AND SOUL ARE GONE FOREVER.

* THINGS THAT WERE LUSTED FOR ARE GONE NEVER TO RETURN. AND THE EMPTY PURSUIT FOR THAT WHICH IS TEMPORARY AND FLEETING IS GONE, AND ONLY EMPTINESS AND MOURNING IS LEFT.

** WHICH LEADS US TO OUR THIRD POINT TODAY, THE MERCHANTS, AS THE MERCHANTS RESPOND TO LOSING THAT IN WHICH THEY LIVED AND LUSTED FOR. LOOK AT V. 15 PLEASE.

III. THE MERCHANTS, (READ V. 15)

A. NOW WE RETURN AGAIN TO THE MERCHANTS WHO SELL THE MERCHANDISE AT THIS FUTURE TIME AND THEIR RESPONSE TO THEIR LOSS.

* THEY BECAME RICH FINANCIALLY BECAUSE OF THEIR TRADING PARTNERSHIP WITH BABYLON, BUT RATHER THAN GOING TO TRY TO HELP THE CITY JUDGED BY GOD, THEY KEEP THEIR DISTANCE.

** THERE IS NO RUSH TO HER AID, THERE IS NO BAIL OUT, JUST STANDING AND WATCHING AT A DISTANCE IN HELPLESS HORROR.

*** FOR YOU SEE THEY FEAR THEIR OWN JUDGMENTS.

**** SELF IS THE MAJOR CONCERN, THEY DON’T WANT TO GET BURNT ANYMORE THAN THEY ALREADY HAVE, SO THEY KEEP THEIR DISTANCE, THEY CONTINUE TO WEEP AND MOURN.

1. AND THESE GREEDY MERCHANTS ARE THE CLASSIC ILLUSTRATION OF ALL THOSE IN ALL TIMES WHO GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD, BUT LOSE THEIR OWN SOULS, QUOTE MATTHEW 16:26.

* WELL, THEY GAINED THE WHOLE WORLD FOR A WHILE, BUT LOST THEIR OWN SOULS AND THEIR MOURNING CONTINUES, LOOK AT V. 16 PLEASE.

B. READ V, 16. NOW THE MERCHANTS SAY WOE, WOE LIKE THE MONARCHS OR KINGS OF THE EARTH BACK IN V. 10.

* AND THE WORD WOE CAN BE TRANSLATED ALAS, WHICH IS A SIGH OF GRIEF, AN EXCLAMATION OF GRIEF.

** AND THE WOE, WOE OR ALAS DOUBLED, USED TWICE IS FOR EMPHASIS, IT COMMUNICATES GREAT GRIEF.

*** FOR BABYLON AT THIS FUTURE TIME WILL BE THE GREAT CITY OF THE WORLD, THE CROWN JEWEL OF ANTICHRIST’S EMPIRE.

**** SHE LIVED IN LUXURY, OPULENCE, SHE WAS FILTHY RICH SIGNIFIED BY THE STATEMENT “SHE WAS CLOTHED IN FINE LINEN AND PURPLE AND SCARLET AND ADORNED WITH GOLD AND PRECIOUS STONES AND PEARLS” ALL LISTED IN VV. 12&13.

1. LISTEN, BABYLON WAS A FAT CAT, ONE WHO LIVED IN THE LAP OF LUXURY, BUT NOW ALL THAT IS GONE. AND IT HAPPENED VERY QUICKLY. LOOK AT V. 17A.

C. READ V. 17A. NOW THE TRUTH OF V. 17A IS THE SWIFTNESS OF GOD’S JUDGMENT ON THIS OPULENT CITY.

* AND THE SUDDENNESS AND COMPLETENESS OF THE DESTRUCTION STRIKES THEM. FOR IN ONE HOUR, IN A VERY SHORT TIME, BABYLON’S GREAT WEALTH HAS COME TO NAUGHT, HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO RUIN, CAME TO NOTHING, THE MEANING OF WAS “LAID WASTE.”

** QUICKLY BABYLON WAS STRIPPED OF HER TREASURES, MADE DESOLATE. AND THESE MERCHANTS ARE IN SHOCK.

*** IT WOULD BE LIKE IF OUR STOCK MARKET CRASHED TO ZERO IN ONE DAY, WHAT WOULD BE THE RESPONSE? MOURNING.

**** AND BELOVED, AGAIN THE MOURNING COMES, NOT OUT OF SOME EMOTIONAL SYMPATHY BUT IN WHAT THIS CRASH HAS DONE TO THEM. THEIR LUSTFUL PASSIONS CAN NO LONGER BE FULFILLED. THEY ARE BANKRUPT AND BROKE AND THEIR GOD-MONEY IS DEAD AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO LIVE FOR.

1. AND BASICALLY WHAT WE SEE IS A REPEAT OF THIS RESPONSE IN VV. 17B THROUGH V. 19, ONLY FROM A DIFFERENCE GROUP OF PEOPLE, WHAT I CALL THE MARINERS, THE MARITIME PEOPLE INVOLVED IN WORLD SHIPPING THROUGH THE SEAS.

* SO LOOK AT V. 17 AGAIN PLEASE WHERE WE WILL SEE OUR 4TH POINT TODAY, THE MARINERS.

IV. THE MARINERS, (READ V. 17)

A. NOW THE MARINERS HERE ARE NO. 1 THE SHIPMASTERS, THE CAPTAINS OF SHIPS, THE SEA CAPTAINS.

* NO. 2 THE PASSENGERS ARE THOSE WHO TRAVELED BY SHIP, THE COMMERCIAL PASSENGERS.

** NO. 3 THE SAILORS ARE THOSE WHOSE LIVELIHOOD DEPENDED ON THE SEA SHIPPING INDUSTRY.

*** AND NO. 4 AND AS MANY AS MAKE THEIR LIVING BY THE SEA WOULD INCLUDE SHIPBUILDERS, CARGO HANDLERS, AND THE REMAINING FISHERMAN WHO STILL HAVE JOBS IN THIS INDUSTRY FROM THE CATASTROPHIC JUDGMENTS ALREADY ON THE WORLD’S SEAS AND OCEANS.

1. WELL, ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE ALSO LIKE THE MONARCHS AND MERCHANTS KEEP THEIR DISTANCE FROM BABYLON, AND THEY ALSO MOURN LIKE THE MONARCHS AND MERCHANTS OVER BABYLON’S DESTRUCTION. LOOK AT V. 18 PLEASE.

B. READ V. 18. NOW THE MARINERS CRY OUT, THEY CRY ALOUD, THEY CRY WITH A LOUD VOICE WITH SHOCK AS THEY SEE THIS GREAT CITY BURNING.

* I MEAN THEY SEE THE SMOKE RISING FROM BABYLON PROBABLY ON T.V. OR THE INTERNET AND THEY ARE IN SHOCK, “FOR WHAT CITY IS LIKE THE GREAT CITY?”

** AND HOW THIS CITY IS DESTROYED IS NOT COMMUNICATED, BUT ULTIMATELY WE KNOW IT COMES FROM THE ALMIGHTY HAND OF GOD, AS WE STUDIED LAST WEEK.

*** LEX TALIONIS, PROPORTIONATE PUNISHMENT, THE LAW OF RETRIBUTION WILL COME INTO PLAY.

**** AND NO DOUBT IN THEIR MINDS THEY THOUGHT THIS CITY WAS INVINCIBLE, “WHAT CITY IS LIKE THE GREAT CITY? BUT IT WAS NOT INVINCIBLE.

1. AND THE MARINERS RESPONSE TO THE JUDGMENT ON BABYLON IS GIVEN IN V. 19. LOOK AT V. 19 PLEASE.

C. READ V. 19. NOW THE MARINERS FIRST RESPONSE IS “THEY THREW DUST ON THEIR HEADS.”

* AND THIS CUSTOM IN ANCIENT TIMES EXPRESSED GREAT GRIEF. THIS ACTION OF THROWING DUST OR DIRT ON THEIR HEADS EXPRESSED HOPELESSNESS, OF INTENSE GRIEF, THERE’S NO HOPE.

** NOW THIS IS FOLLOWED BY WEEPING AND MOURNING AND THE DOUBLE WOE WHICH WE HAVE ALREADY STUDIED TODAY.

*** AND THEN WHAT FOLLOWS THIS IS THE REALITY THAT THOSE WHO HAD SHIPS BECAME RICH BY BABYLON, WHICH FURTHER ILLUSTRATES THE IMPORT, EXPORT BUSINESS WHICH EVEN TODAY IS DONE BY SHIPPING AND IS GROWING EVERY DAY IN A WORLD MARKET.

**** WELL AGAIN, IN ONE HOUR, BABYLON IS LAID WASTE AT THE END OF V. 19, A REPETITIOUS THEME OF THE QUICKNESS OF GOD’S JUDGMENT AND THE FLEETING NATURE OF RICHES AND LUXURY.

1. SO LIKE THE MONARCH AND THE MERCHANTS, THE MARINERS SEE THE SOURCE OF THEIR WEALTH GO UP IN SMOKE.

* AND THOSE THREE GROUPS REPRESENT THE RESPONSE OF THE WORLD IN THAT DAY. HOPELESSNESS, DESPAIR, GRIEF, SHOCK AND MOURNING, THE WORLD ECONOMY HAS CRASHED.

** BUT HEAVEN’S PERSPECTIVE WILL BE MUCH DIFFERENT, FOR LOOK AT V. 20 WHERE WE’LL SEE OUR LAST POINT TODAY, THE MARTYRS. LOOK AT V. 20 PLEASE.

V. THE MARTYRS, (READ V. 20)

A. NOW JOHN RITCHIE IN HIS COMMENTARY ON REVELATION SAYS APPROPRIATELY AT THIS POINT AND I QUOTE:

* “THE SOB OF EARTH IS FOLLOWED BY THE SONG IN HEAVEN; THE DIRGE OF EARTH IS REPLACED BY THE DELIGHT OF HEAVEN; FOR WHILE EARTH IS GRIEVED BY BABYLON’S FALL, HEAVEN IS GLADDENED.” (END QUOTE)

** NOW THE VOICE THAT IS SPEAKING UP TO THIS POINT, I THINK CHRIST, COMMANDS HEAVEN TO REJOICE OVER THE JUDGMENT OF BABYLON, FOR THE VERB REJOICE IS IN THE IMPERATIVE MOOD, SO THIS IS A COMMAND.

*** AND SPECIFICALLY NOT ONLY IS HEAVEN TO REJOICE, BUT ALSO THE SAINTS, THE APOSTLES ARE PROPHETS.

**** AND THE SAINTS IS A GENERAL TERM FOR ALL BELIEVERS, THOSE MADE HOLY, SET APART BY CHRIST-HIS FOLLOWERS.

1. AND APOSTLES AND PROPHETS TALK ABOUT A SPECIAL DESIGNATION OF SAINTS GIVEN TO THE CHURCH IN THE N.T. ON WHICH THE CHURCH WAS BUILT UPON, QUOTE EPHESIANS 2:20.

* AND THESE DESIGNATIONS COULD MAKE REFERENCE TO THE GLORIFIED CHURCH IN HEAVEN AT THIS TIME AND ALL TIME WHO HAVE BEEN MARTYRED.

** FOR THE CONNECTION I SEE IS ALL THE APOSTLES WERE MARTYRED EXCEPT JOHN WHO WAS INSPIRED TO WRITE THE BOOK OF JOHN WHO WAS ON THE ISLAND OF PATMOS AS PERSECUTION FOR HIS FAITH.

*** AND MANY OF THE PROPHETS WERE MARTYRED AND THE SAINTS HERE COULD BE A DESIGNATION FOR MARTYRED SAINTS OF ALL TIME.

*** AND I SAY THAT, FOR FROM BABEL TO BABYLON IN ANCIENT HISTORY TO FUTURE BABYLON, MANY HAVE SUFFERED MARTYRDOM FROM FALSE RELIGIOUS BABYLON AND ECONOMIC BABYLON WHICH IN REVELATION CHAPTERS 17&18 IS IN A REVIVED FUTURE FORM.

2. FOR NOTICE WHAT THE VOICE SAYS IN THE REST OF V. 20, “BECAUSE GOD HAS PRONOUNCED JUDGMENT FOR YOU AGAINST HER.” (HER MEANING BABYLON).

* AND THIS YOU COULD BE A REFERENCE TO MARTYRS, KILLED BY BABYLON AND ANTICHRIST AND THE BABYLONS OF HISTORY.

** OR THE YOU COULD BE ALL SAINTS OF ALL TIME REJOICE BECAUSE GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE WILL HAVE PREVAILED.

*** AND WHATEVER INTERPRETATION IT IS, HEAVEN IS COMMANDED TO REJOICE AS BABYLON IS JUDGED.

IN WRAP UP AND IN APPLICATION: (1) THE THEME OF THE FLEETING NATURE OF RICHES IS CLEAR FROM OUR STUDY TODAY.

* QUICKLY THEY CAN BE TAKEN FROM PEOPLE AND IT IS OBVIOUS FROM WORLD VOLATILITY AND THE PRICE OF OIL, DEBT AND THE TRADE IMBALANCES, WORLD ECONOMIES COULD CRASH AT ANY TIME.

** SO WHAT ARE WE TRUSTING IN TODAY? WHAT ARE YOU LIVING FOR? HAVE YOU BEEN DECEIVED INTO THINKING THAT RICHES OR WEALTH OR MONEY SATISFIES?

*** BELOVED, I GO BACK TO THE WORDS OF OUR LORD JESUS IN MATTHEW 6:19-21 AND MATTHEW 6:24 WHERE JESUS SAID: (QUOTE THEM).

**** CHRISTIAN WHERE IS YOUR TREASURE TODAY? YOUR ACTIONS AND LIVES REVEAL YOUR HEART.

(2) ARE YOU TRYING TO SERVE TWO MASTERS?

* ARE YOU LIVING FOR THE TEMPORAL OR THE ETERNAL?

** PROVERBS 27:20 SAYS: (QUOTE IT). ALSO QUOTE PSALM 107:9.

*** CHRISTIAN, ONLY JESUS CAN SATISFY YOUR SOUL. DON’T BE DECEIVED BY THE LOVE OF MONEY AND THINGS FOR THEY ARE FOOL’S GOLD.

**** AND IF YOU ARE NOT A TRUE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST TODAY, COME TO THE SAVIOR IN REPENTANT FAITH AND TURN TO HIM, THE ONE WHO CAN SAVE YOU AND FORGIVE YOUR SINS AND RESCUE YOU FROM ETERNAL JUDGMENT IN HELL.

(3) DON’T PUT YOUR CONFIDENCE IN RICHES LIKE FUTURE BABYLON, TURN TO THE SAVIOR THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.