Revelation 18:9-10 “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour your doom has come!’
There are three laments by three different groups. The first is a lament by the kings of the earth. These are the kings who committed adultery with Babylon. They mourn because their luxuries are gone; they have lost their source of wealth. Their terror results when perhaps they realize that even the great Babylon can fall. Could they be next? Babylon is suddenly destroyed by fire (see 2 Pet 3:12). A once strong city falls to nothing. This would have been hard for people in Roman Empire to believe of Rome, but one day Rome did fall. All empires come to an end. This passage warns about putting hope in the empires of this world. These kings of the earth stay far off and observe from a distance the fall of Babylon. The destruction has come in one hour.
We cannot know to what this passage refers. We can speculate, but rather than trying to pinpoint any one reference, we would be wise to head the warning imbedded in this story. They message is that we should be warned about putting our hope in things of this world or finding our pleasure in things that go against God’s plan and will for us. The immorality and materialism of Babylon eventually led to its downfall. There are many communities, cities, and nations of the world that are like Babylon. Even great nations will one day not exist. This does not mean that we should reject citizenship or live in a far away mountain hideaway. But, we should be cautious not to become involved in the things of our culture which will lead to downfall and judgment.
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