Grosey's Messages

Revelation 18

¹         After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.² And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.³ For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality."

⁴         I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;⁵ for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.⁶ Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.⁷ To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.'⁸ For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.

⁹         "And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning,¹⁰ standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'

¹¹       "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more--¹² cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble,¹³ and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.¹⁴ The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them.¹⁵ The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,¹⁶ saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;¹⁷ for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!' And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance,¹⁸ and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What city is like the great city?'¹⁹ And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!'²⁰ Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her."

²¹       Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.²² And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer;²³ and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.²⁴ And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth."

Questions (from Akin).

• What examples can you give of people looking to Babylon to provide satisfaction, joy, and meaning?
• This chapter shows the inability of sin to provide lasting pleasure. How have you seen the deceptiveness of sin in its failure to provide lasting joy and security?
• Consider the grounds for Babylon's judgment in 18:1-8. Which of these is most likely something that marks your life?
• How do Christians heed the warning of 18:4 without separating entirely from non-Christians?
• Judgment in this passage is all the more severe because of the prostitute's pride. Why is God so opposed to arrogance and pride?
• How is our heart revealed by what we weep over? What causes you to weep?
• Why does love for this world lead to destruction with the world?
• How does the worship of God make us more like God, and the worship of idols and Satan make us more like them? Have you found yourself molding to a person or thing you care most about? What is it?
• Discuss how the dark description of Babylon's judgment makes you feel. Is there rejoicing? Sadness?
• This passage provides a strong warning against falling in love with this world.

Sources:

Patterson: Revelation

Hamilton: Revelation

Rogers: Revelation

Jeremiah: Revelation

Criswell: Revelation

Wiersbe: NT Commentary

Akin: Christ Centred expositions of Revelation

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Ancient Babylon was one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, and there is coming a time in the future when the world, once again, will wonder at Babylon.

In the Bible, cities are sometimes renamed symbolically.

Babylon is mentioned more than any other city in the Bible, except for Jerusalem.

Now, do you notice the reference it is to be judged by God?  As you look at Chapter 17 and Chapter 18, there is a colossal, vast difference between the judgment that falls upon the great scarlet whore and the judgment that falls upon the social, commercial, political, cultural life of this earth in this great city of Babylon.  It is the hands of man that destroy the whore.  It is the political power and governments of the world that hate her, that destroy her flesh, that burn her with fire and make her naked, that confiscate all of her wealth and her property.  That is done by man.  That is, that is what God says will happen to this great ecclesiastical system who has the golden cup in her hand.  The kings of the earth (the 17th Chapter of the book of the Revelation), the kings of the earth, the governments of the earth will become weary of her pretenses, of her superstition, of her arrogance, of her parading and gold and scarlet and purple.  They will become weary of her financial burden, of supporting her endless institutions.  Finally the people of the earth, the governments and political leaders of the earth finally grow weary of her and they destroy her.  

The destruction of the city of Babylon is in an altogether different world.  It is God that destroys Babylon.  The Beast isn't mentioned, the ten kings are not mentioned, the government of this earth in its destruction is not mentioned.  This is an intervention of God.  This is something that God does.  And when Babylon is destroyed there is lamentation over this earth.  The kings of the earth lament, the merchants of the earth lament, the seamen of the merchant marines lament. 

It is possible that Revelation 18 speaks of literal Babylon.

Revelation 17 refers to the symbolic, ecclesiastical or religious Babylon.

Revelation 18 speaks of commercial Babylon.

Revelation 18:2 speaks of a double fall.

There is the fall of ecclesiastical Babylon that we see in Revelation 17.

In Revelation 18, we see the fall of political and commercial Babylon.

In Revelation 17, the kings of the Earth turned on ecclesiastical Babylon, destroyed her and judged her.

In Revelation 18, it is God who will judge the kings.

We learn in Revelation 18 at least four things about the Babylon to come, when we say goodbye to Babylon.

There are many scholars who believe this Babylon refers to a re-built city of Babylon in Iran. Then, there are other scholars who believe that this Babylon represents a system of life and of culture, whose basic essential principle is alienation from God, and that it is epitomized, it is symbolized by this great world city.  It could be a great world city in America, a great world city in England, a great world city in Europe, like Rome.  Then there are those who believe that this Babylon represents that social, cultural, political, commercial life of the end times,  that it is symbolized, it is summarized, epitomized in one great world city called Babylon.  All three of them can be true, and maybe all three of them are true.

THE FAILURE OF ECONOMIC BABYLON

What we see in chapter 18 is not the fall of religious Babylon; it is the failure of economic Babylon. "Babylon" is a godless world system led by the Antichrist. There have been some financial scares in the past, such as October 24, 1929, when the New York Stock Exchange crashed and in one day lost 12.8% of its value. That led into the Great Depression. Many lost their jobs and even committed suicide because of that economic collapse.

And then there was the GFC; The Global Financial Crisis.

Australia was relatively well protected of all the nations on earth. We had been exporting coal to China and had tied our economy sadly to the Rising Tiger of the East! That granted us some relief from the GFC. In the USA it virtually sent everyone broke. One guy fiddling with stocks and shares in Singapore destroyed the economies of most countries world-wide!

That lets you know our economic system is rather fragile. And the world ain't seen nothin' yet!

Because chapter 18 of Revelation describes a future time when the whole world system is going to fall apart economically. There are four sections to chapter 18. We're going to look at them one at a time.

Each section is set out by someone crying out!

In the first section An Angel Cries Out.

Revelation 18:1-3. "¹ After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.² And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!' "

In the second section A Voice from heaven cries out:

⁴ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;⁵ for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

In the third section The voices of the Mourners Cry Out.

⁹ "And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning,¹⁰ standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'

¹¹ "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her.. And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance,¹⁸ and were crying out..

They all cry out Woe Woe!

And in the fourth Section Believers Cry Out in Rejoicing!

1. The Cry Of Destruction

The first thing we see is the cause of the destruction. Why is this future commerce system going to fall?

This looks forward to the end times a time when under the economic leadership of the Antichrist, people will not be able to buy or sell anywhere on earth without the mark of the beast.

1. It is demonic

Number one, this economic system is basically demonic. Look at verse 2 it says, "She" that is this economic system "has become a home for demons. A haunt for every evil spirit." Earlier in the book of Revelation, the time is going to come when the bottomless pit of Hell is going to be opened and hundreds of thousands of additional demons are going to pour out and be a part of earth. You think it is bad now. It's going to be much, much worse during that time. Verse 2 says, "every unclean and detestable bird." When you read the parables of Jesus he talks about how many times bird symbolizes the work of Satan. When Jesus talked about the parable of the sower who sowed the seed and how birds came down and took away the seed. When Jesus interpreted that parable, he said, "The birds that take away the seed are Satan who comes and robs the word from the hearts of those who hear it." Elsewhere he talks about birds nesting and stealing seed in other places so it could be that this is a reference to that, the tremendous demonic influence during this time.

2. It is intoxicating

Another reason it's going to is because of its intoxicating nature. In other words, it was such a wonderful system; everybody who bought into it said it was so great they became drunk on it. It says in verse 3, "All the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries." An inebriated man loses his sense of judgment. It's hard for a drunken man to say, "This is right and this is wrong." It is hard for him to make discriminating decisions. John is saying the whole world has become drunk on this one-world system during this time. It is demonic in nature. It's intoxicating in nature.

3. It is immoral

Number three he says, "it's immoral in nature" because, "the kings of the earth committed adultery with her and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries." It means there was one class of people who became incredibly wealthy as a part of this economic system. Now don't think this economic system is a fair system. It never says it's fair–it just says it's effective. What's happening to the middle class in our world, especially in third world countries? In Mexico, Central America and South America, you find basically two classes of people: the very wealthy and those living in poverty. There are those who are saying this is going to happen in America and Europe eventually. This economic system will not create not several classes; it creates two classes. There are the incredibly rich and those living in poverty who are enslaved by it. So the system itself is immoral. The angel comes out and says, "It's going to fall! It's going to fall!" and this is why it's going to fall. This is the cause of this destruction. Verse 4-8. "Then I heard another voice from heaven say: 'Come out of her, (meaning the system) my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, 'I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn. Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her; death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.'

In the second section A Voice from heaven Cries Out: the call for separation

⁴         I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;⁵ for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.⁶ Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.⁷ To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.'⁸ For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.

"come out from among her and be different be separate!"

That is good advice then and it is good advice today.

Look at 2 Corinthians 6:14 14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: " I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people." 17 Therefore " Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you." 18 " I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty."

What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? He keeps asking these questions. He says as a Christian you ought to live differently. You ought to be different and come out from among them and be separate to be different.

As a Christian, is there any difference between your lifestyle and the lifestyle of a nice, honest, lost man? There ought to be. Being different is an admonition to us even today.

Be Separate!

Be Shocked!

The word "Babylon" comes from the Old Testament. They tried to build a tower that would reach up to God. Archeologists believe it might have been up to 600 feet high.

The Book of Genesis does not mention how tall the tower was. The phrase used to describe the tower, "its top in the sky" (v.4), was an idiom for impressive height; rather than implying arrogance, this was simply a cliché for height.[12]:37

The Book of Jubilees mentions the tower's height as being 5,433 cubits and 2 palms, or 2,484 m (8,150 ft), roughly 1.6 miles high. The Third Apocalypse of Baruch mentions that the 'tower of strife' reached a height of 463 cubits, or 211.8 m (695 ft), taller than any structure built in human history until the construction of the Eiffel Tower in 1889, which is 324 m (1,063 ft) in height.

Gregory of Tours writing c. 594, quotes the earlier historian Orosius (c. 417) as saying the tower was "laid out foursquare on a very level plain. Its wall, made of baked brick cemented with pitch, is fifty cubits wide, two hundred high, and four hundred and seventy stades in circumference.  A  stade was an ancient Greek unit of length, based on the circumference of a typical sports stadium of the time which was about 176 metres (577 ft).  Twenty-five gates are situated on each side, which make in all one hundred. The doors of these gates, which are of wonderful size, are cast in bronze. The same historian tells many other tales of this city, and says: 'Although such was the glory of its building still it was conquered and destroyed.'"

Something does pile up from Babel to reach heaven, but it's not the building–it's their sins. "Your sins have piled up to heaven," We learn something here about the nature of God. The Bible says God will forgive your sins and remember them no more. God is a perfect forgiver when it comes to forgetting your sins you placed on the blood of Jesus. He has taken those sins and put them as far as the East is from the West. The Bible says he has put them behind his back: He remembers them no more. The Bible says God has taken your sins and buried them in the depths of the sea BUT the same God who is perfect at forgetting forgiven sin says he always remembers unforgiven sin. All the unforgiven sins of this world system pile up to heaven. That is why God says, "Come out from among her and be different." In verses 7-8, it says that day is going to come, although this system is boasting and saying, "We'll never fail! We'll never fall! This is the perfect economic system!" He says it's going to fall apart in one day!

But Babylon Is Judged Because of Her Sorceries

Revelation 18: Verse 23 because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.

ὅτι ἐν τῇ φαρμακίᾳ σοῦ ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη.

φαρμακια, old word (from φαρμακευω, to prepare drugs, from φαρμακον, sorcery, Re 9:21), in N.T. only here and Ga 5:20 for sorcery and magical arts. If one is puzzled over the connection between medicine and sorcery as illustrated by this word (our pharmacy), he has only to recall quackery today in medicine (patent medicines and cure-alls), witch-doctors, professional faith-healers, medicine-men in Africa. True medical science has had a hard fight to shake off chicanery and charlatanry.

But more relevant to our day is the reality of the use of drugs like ice.  Manufactured drugs that dominate so many in our world today. Alcohol is a poison that kills Almost 6,000 Australians died from alcohol-attributable disease in a single year, about one every 90 minutes. Australia has one of the world's highest rates of methamphetamine usage. The Australian crime commission said in March that as many as 1.3m Australians had tried ice or speed, with nearly 400,000 using in the last 12 months.

But Babylon Is Judged Because of Her Seductions

Revelation 18: ³ For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality."

But Babylon Is Judged Because of Her Sins

Revelation 18: ⁵ for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities

But Babylon Is Judged Because of Her Self-Glorification

Revelation 18:⁷ To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.

"I am immortal and invincible," and in her arrogance and self-conceit and empty glorification, she thought of her atheism and of her blasphemy and of her infidelity and of her Christ-rejection.  To her there is not any God, there is not any Christ, there's not any Holy Spirit.  And she proposes for herself a dominance of the history of the future that shall last forever, for there's no God to judge her.  "I sit as a queen and I have glorified myself."  We will bury these people who believe in God, and who worship the Lord, and who have churches and religion.  The false, vain self-glorification and the empty boasting of Babylon to defy God is typical of the hard Secularism of our age. It also sees its goals as "wealth creation."

But Babylon Is Judged Because of Her Slavery

Revelation 18:¹² cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble,¹³ and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.

But Babylon Is Judged Because of Her Sacrifices

Revelation 18:²⁴ And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth."

3. The cry of mourning

⁹         "And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning,¹⁰ standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'

¹¹ "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more--¹² cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble,¹³ and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.¹⁴ The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them.¹⁵ The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,¹⁶ saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;¹⁷ for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!' And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance,¹⁸ and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What city is like the great city?'¹⁹ And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!

The third section talks about the cry of mourning, because so many will be saddened by the

collapse of this economic system. Basically, it is all the wealthy people, the merchants.

The Monarchs of the Earth Will Mourn, The Merchants of the Earth Will Mourn, The Mariners of the Earth Will Mourn.

It is as true today even as it was during John's time, that most of the world's cargo is shipped by sea. That will probably always be true, because it is the cheapest way to carry large amounts and weights of cargo. Notice what happens. It says all these goods are going to be spoiled. Then in verses 11-13 it starts mentioning them. And it finishes with the souls of men! Slaves and human lives.. καὶ σωμάτων, καὶ ψυχὰς ἀνθρώπων.  This addition is an explanation of the use of σωματα for slaves, "human live stock" (Swete), but slaves all the same. Perhaps κα here should be rendered "even," not "and": "bodies even souls of men." The slave merchant was called σωματεμπορος (body merchant). Soul destroyers!  RWP.

²² And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer;²³ and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer;

There will be no more music, no more merchandising, no more manufacturing, no more marriage.

Vs 8 In one day

15,17 for in one hour she has been laid waste!

It is going to happen fast.

4. The Chorus of Rejoicing

²⁰ Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her."

²¹       Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.²² And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer;²³ and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.²⁴ And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth."

Verse 20: Rejoice!

This final section talks about the chorus of rejoicing. Verses 9-19 were about the cry of mourning, but verses 20-24 speak of the chorus of rejoicing, because when the economic system fails, the merchants and the mariners are going to weep and mourn but those who are in heaven– and that includes us at this time and all the Tribulation saints–the Bible says we are going to rejoice because finally God is going to pour out his righteous judgement on these.

Patterson writes: "One final highly symbolic action is reported by John in the eighteenth chapter. A mighty angel picks up a boulder the size of a large millstone and throws it into the sea. Millstones came in various sizes. Some were small enough for a woman to grind meal for her family. Others were of enormous size and had to be turned by donkeys or oxen. Such a millstone would weigh thousands of pounds. This latter millstone is in view here. The angel who is able to hoist such a stone is said to be a mighty angel. The emphasis on the size and the weight of the stone seems to have two noticeable traits. The first is that when the millstone hits the water a noticeable splash would surely occur. Second, because of its weight and density and total lack of buoyancy, such a millstone would promptly sink to the bottom, disappearing from view. So, Babylon, with considerable fanfare and noticeable action falls like the millstone and disappears from view. In fact, v. 21 mentions that with this kind of violence the great city of Babylon is thrown down and the condition is permanent."

Babylon is going to be a literal city, but we don't know which city it's going to be. Some say it will be Rome, some say it could be the ancient city of Babylon revived, which would be Baghdad in Iraq. Some say it could be New York City, because it is one of the leading economic centers of the world. It could be Tokyo. We simply do not know but all it says is there is this one city and suddenly it is going to disappear in its prominence the same way as when a 500 pound stone is thrown into the water and sinks out of sight. This city's prominence, its music, its beauty, its wealth is going to absolutely disappear. Then look what it says in verse 20 again: "We are to rejoice." It says in verse 20 that God has judged her for the way they treated the Tribulation saints those of us who were alive during any time of Christian persecution. Then it gives the reason in verse 24, "in her she was responsible for the blood of the prophets and the saints and all those who have been killed on the earth."

In verse 1 of chapter 19 there is really no break and I want to lead you into it, because it says,

"After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

The word hallelujah means "praise the Lord." This is a time of rejoicing, because God's final plan is going to be put into motion.

This passage asks some questions of our attitude towards God.

Patterson reflects on the nature of idolatry in the human soul.  It is not the shopping list of material things that are wrong here.  "The problem arises whenever the accumulation of these commodities becomes an obsession. The crass materialism of most of the world constitutes a form of idolatry. Wealth, its accumulation, and the means by which it is garnered becomes the end game. Like the Sabbath, wealth was created for men and not man for wealth. Since the supreme object of one's devotion can become the god of his life, Babylon represents the enthronement of materialism as the condition prevalent in the world at the consummation of the age. An appropriate perspective regarding all things material can be contrasted with the conditions pictured in terminal Babylon.

Second, Babylon represents not merely materialism out of control but also the corruption of faith by the idolatry of materialism, including as rampant materialism always does, its willingness to barter in the "souls of men." The purpose of life is to establish and to maintain a relationship to the Creator/Redeemer God."

Hamilton writes "Will it make you sad when all the ways that people take pride in themselves are shown to be bankrupt? Will you lament with the kings, merchants, and men of the sea? Or are you going to rejoice when God finally brings justice, when he shows his power, and when he vindicates his servants? This is really a question about where your heart is and what you really enjoy. Do you enjoy the world, or do you enjoy God? Do you long to be with God, or would you really rather go to a nice restaurant, the mall, or maybe a football game and enjoy yourself? Let me ask it another way: do you live for what you were made to live for—God? Or do you live for what you were not made to live for and what will never satisfy you—yourself?"

Do you live for this world? Or for the next?

What will it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his own soul? Mark 8:32

You're not going to escape death.  Don't you think you will! You're not going to escape the judgment of God, don't you think you will! We have a confrontation, we have an appearance to make, a rendezvous before God some day.  And oh, Lord, what of my sins?  And what of the depravities of my life?  Of what?  I need God.  I need a Saviour, I need an advocate.  I need a pleader.  I need somebody, oh, Lord, I need Jesus.  You are not equal for these things. You need the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Saviour now and for eternity. You are not ready for death, you are not ready for the judgment of God without the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Please take Him today.