When Society Collapses

The first entry in this series can be found here.
The previous entry can be found here.

A quick glance at the news today reveals that things are not as they should be. In fact, one need not even look at the news. All you need to do is browse your favorite social media outlet to discover that people are discontent with the state of the world. Our economy is in shambles, prices are going up on everything, and politically, things look bleak.

As we come to the next section of the book of Revelation, we discover that the world system will eventually crumble completely. However, rather than describe the crumbling of the world system, John focuses on varied reactions to the fall of Babylon:

The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and lived luxuriously with her will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off in fear of her torment, saying:

Woe, woe, the great city,
Babylon, the mighty city!
For in a single hour
your judgment has come.

The merchants of the earth will also weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their merchandise any longer— merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine fabrics of linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all kinds of fragrant wood products; objects of ivory; objects of expensive wood, brass, iron, and marble; cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine wheat flour, and grain; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and slaves and human lives.

The fruit you craved has left you.
All your splendid and glamorous things are gone;
they will never find them again.

The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying:

Woe, woe, the great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet,
adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls,
for in a single hour
such fabulous wealth was destroyed!

And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out: “Who is like the great city?” They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning:

Woe, woe, the great city,
where all those who have ships on the sea
became rich from her wealth,
for in a single hour she was destroyed.
Rejoice over her, heaven,
and you saints, apostles, and prophets,
because God has executed your judgment on her!

Revelation 18:9-20

This text will be assessed differently than most. First, we will break down the different people mentioned in this text, to understand who is affected when Babylon falls. Second, we will investigate where everyone else is, since only a limited number of people are mentioned in the first section. Thirdly, since so much of this text relates to economics, it must be asked, “Are economics sinful?” When all this has been investigated, it will be clear that the fall of Babylon will upend life as it has always been known.

Who does this affect?

The first group of people affected by the fall of Babylon was the kings of the earth (18:9-10). Those with political power who colluded with the evil world system, knowingly or unknowingly bringing about the will of the beast on earth (this is seen by remembering John’s point he’s been threading ever since 17:1 [compare 17:2 with 18:9]). The rulers of the earth mourn over the sudden fall of society (“in a single hour”) and try to distance themselves from responsibility (18:10). The main point of the kings’ song is that her judgment has come.

The second group of people affected by the fall of Babylon was the merchants of the earth (18:11-17a). From a certain perspective, the merchants are the link between the kings of the earth and Babylon herself; the merchants are how the kings were able to commit immorality with the world system. This is the most detailed of the three groups, but the main thing to notice is that—like the kings—the merchants mourn over the sudden fall of society (“in a single hour”) and try to distance themselves from responsibility (18:15, 17a). The main point of the merchants’ song is that their wealth has been destroyed.

The third group of people affected by the fall of Babylon was the sailors (18:17b-19). In a sense, this is just a different category of merchants, but since the text differentiates between them and reiterates that the sailors also mourn over the sudden fall of society (“in a single hour”) while trying to distance themselves from responsibility (18:17b, 19), it remains best to consider them alone. The main point of their song is to praise the now-fallen world system.

It is worth noting that these groups of people do not mourn over their sin. They mourn over the inability to continue doing what they’ve been doing. They are sad about the consequences. This is not a cry of repentance, but a cry of regret. This is what Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10.

However, the fact that these groups of people, who are just as guilty as Babylon herself, are not destroyed simultaneously with her is worth pondering. We can today see the breakdown of society. Whether this time it will culminate in the return of Christ is another matter entirely, but according to this text, society will fall before the final judgment. As such, the disintegration of society should be understood as God’s way of grabbing our attention. The kings, merchants, and sailors of the earth still have the chance to repent when they see Babylon burning. Will they? Will you?

And thus we see the fourth group of people: Christians. Revelation 18:20 reads,

Rejoice over her, heaven, and you saints, apostles, and prophets, because God has executed your judgment on her!

There is a note in the HCSB that reads, “Or God pronounced on her the judgment she passed on you; see Rv 18:6.” This is the better way to understand the final clause. As Revelation 18:6 says, “Pay her back the way she also paid.” While the rest of the world mourns their losses, Christians celebrate their gains. When the world system falls apart, Christians benefit. We will come back to this idea before the end of the post.

Where are normal people?

This text specifies how kings, merchants, and sailors react to the news of Babylon’s destruction, but nothing is said of the average, everyday person. What are we to make of this?

I think the best answer to this question is that we remember that the book of Revelation is a collection of visions that all view the same event from varying vantage points. In other passages we’ve seen the loss of life as a result of God’s judgment (a quarter of the earth, 6:8; a third of the earth, 9:15; seven thousand in one earthquake, 11:13). But the focus here is on the evil world system—political and economic—and less on the individuals within it. The individuals mentioned are the big shots in society, Christians and, technically, slaves (Revelation 18:13)—a large portion of the population in the culture at this time.

Christianity historically made an impact among the nobodies of society, so it is possible that the dual mention of slaves (per the HCSB note) implicitly refers to Christians. They would have a lot to rejoice over with no one willing to purchase them anymore (Revelation 18:11-13).

I’d like to imagine that the lack of mention of everyday people here indicates that the majority of society at this point has become Christian. It makes sense on the basis of Philippians 2:10-11, but it need not insinuate this. The text is silent on this point, and to say more is to overstate the evidence (though the postmillennialist in me wants to see the whole world population turn to faith in Christ).

Are economics evil?

The final question this post forces us to ask is “Are economics evil?” I want to start by asking the very personal question, “How attached to this world are we?” which will be followed by a discussion of slavery, before finally coming back to the fall of the economic system as John describes it. At the end, I will note—as is my practice—how the gospel can be preached from this text.

How attached to this world am I?

It’s a question we must ask in light of this passage. The kings, merchants, and sailors mourn their losses, completely blind to the spiritual realities behind the situation (it’s quite possible verse 20 is being spoken by the same speaker as 18:4-8, since it’s incredibly hard to delineate the start and end of quotations in biblical texts). Are we too caught up in political and economic uncertainty to think about spiritual matters?

The kings, merchants, and sailors of the world were taken by surprise at God’s judgment on Babylon. It would be a pity for us to be taken by surprise as well.

This text makes it clear that those supporting slavery will be taken by surprise. If this text had been truly fulfilled in the 1860s, the Confederates would have been in for a rude awakening. In fact, the fall of the Confederacy could actually be seen as a fulfillment of this text. The argument that the Bible condones slavery fails to take this passage into consideration. In the end, there will be no slaves. People from every nation, tribe, and tongue will be on even footing before God. (The outlawing of slavery is more proof for the postmillenial perspective.)

Three times the text says that this destruction of the economic system occurs “in a single hour.” Is this an exaggeration? We can see our economy crumbling today; the stock market crashed in the 1920s; famines and wars have ravaged the world throughout history, leading to economic trouble. Our economy has been bad presently—and keeps getting worse—since 2022.

This is important to recognize. We are not currently witnessing the fall of Babylon that Revelation refers to. Even nonbelievers recognize our economy is crumbling. The destruction will come suddenly, taking the whole world by surprise.

So in conclusion, economics are not evil in themselves, but they can highlight societal values, which could betray an anti-Christ allegiance. Even the economics of the Confederacy weren’t inherently bad. The bad was the fact that their economics were bolstered by the buying and selling of human lives; it betrayed their disordered values.

If we’re too connected to the economy we will mourn the wrong things when Babylon is destroyed. If we mourn the wrong things when Babylon is destroyed, we will betray our allegiance was not to Christ.

Technically, every time a person places their faith in Christ and repents of their previous wicked deeds, Babylon falls a little more. Every victory for Jesus is a defeat for Satan. Since this is a minor defeat for Babylon, it should show itself in completely changed lives. Christ has come in believer’s hearts which should greatly impact our life in this world—truly upending it!

Have you placed your faith in Christ? Do your values demonstrate this reality?

If you never have before, I plead with you today to place your faith in Him today!

In this with you.

Soli Deo Gloria
Sola Fide
Solus Christus
Sola Scriptura

Thanks for reading.

The next entry can be found here.