Read with Me
Revelation 18:21-14 (HCSB)
Then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying:
In this way, Babylon the great city
will be thrown down violently
and never be found again.
The sound of harpists, musicians,
flutists, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you again;
no craftsman of any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the sound of a mill
will never be heard in you again;
the light of a lamp
will never shine in you again;
and the voice of a groom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
All this will happen
because your merchants
were the nobility of the earth,
because all the nations were deceived
by your sorcery,
and the blood of prophets and saints,
and of all those slaughtered on earth,
was found in you.
Listen with Me
Although John had seen the results of the fall of Babylon the Great, the Roman Empire, not as a specific city, but as a system of governance and ideology that had set itself against God and his people and that was typified at that time by the government centered in Rome, that fall was still in his future. Now the forecast of that fall is reinforced by the vision of this mighty Angel hurling a huge stone into the depths of the Mediterranean.
The judgment delivered by the angel shows that this downfall of the empire will be so thorough that it will be as if the empire never existed at all. All its former power and authority will be seen only in its crumbling buildings and ruined structures. Future generations will find relics that speak of the phenomenal greatness that had long before crumbled into the dust.
And indeed, that is what happened. Within just a couple generations, the power of Rome was greatly diminished. And within just a couple generations after that, all that was left of the mighty empire were a few cities and towns, and crumbling buildings and infrastructure. Even the country of Italy itself, the home of the great capital city of Rome, devolved into a collection of independent city states.
Some believe that the fall of empires is just part of the natural life cycle of humanity. But the reason for the precipitous fall of the Roman Empire, the final judgment that resulted in their death sentence, is listed in verse 24. Rome had become murderous and so ingrown and self-focused that it had murdered its own people, and it had persecuted and murdered the people of God’s kingdom, the saints and prophets. Therefore, the death sentence God imposed was absolutely just and proper.
Pray with Me
Father, I know that some people, even some Christians, have a deistic kind of faith. They believe that You set up the universe to be able to run along on its own according to the natural laws You set up in the beginning, and that You rarely if ever get directly involved in what happens. But the picture You Yourself paint in the Scriptures is far different. Your picture shows us that You are a God who is intimately and continually involved in every aspect of the lives of the people of this planet. You watch, You guide, You chastise. And when necessary, You judge and even destroy. It’s amazing to know that You are so closely involved at all times that a sparrow won’t fall to the earth without your knowledge. But that same truth should bring concern, even fear, from those who oppose you and your agenda, because you are just as close to them, seeing every action, hearing every thought, and discerning every plan before it is launched. Lord, help me to live each day knowing that you know me, caring that you care for me, and rejoicing that you truly are in control. Amen.