Thursday, April 24, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Revelation 18
Key Verse
Revelation 18:13 — “And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.”
Devotional Thought
In Revelation 18, John watches a single angel descend from heaven, and the whole earth brightens with his glory. That light is not gentle; it is the searchlight of judgment falling on Babylon the great. The angel cries with a strong voice that Babylon is fallen, and she has become the habitation of devils, a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. The city that looked so splendid and secure is now a ruin inhabited by demons. Those who loved her stand at a distance and weep. The kings of the earth who committed fornication with her, the merchants who grew rich through the abundance of her delicacies, the shipmasters and sailors who traded by sea—all of them bewail her, because in one hour her riches came to nought. They mourn not so much for the city as for their lost profits. The list of merchandise in verses 12 and 13 runs from gold and pearls to cinnamon and fine flour, and it ends with the most chilling item of all: slaves, and souls of men. Babylon traded in human lives and called it commerce.
Yet in the middle of the chapter a different voice speaks from heaven: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” God’s people are still in the city when the judgment falls. They are called to separate themselves, not because they can earn salvation by leaving, but because fellowship with Babylon means sharing her guilt. Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. The chapter closes with a mighty angel casting a millstone into the sea—a picture of how suddenly and completely Babylon will be thrown down. The music of harpers and pipers will cease, the light of the candle will go out, the voice of the bridegroom and bride will be heard no more. And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints.
We read this in late April, when gardens are greening and storefronts are busy, when the world around us looks anything but doomed. That is precisely the danger Babylon presents: she is attractive, prosperous, and confident, saying in her heart, “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” The temptation is not usually to bow before a golden idol; it is to quietly adopt her values—to measure life by what we own, to treat people as means rather than as souls, to love the delicacies more than the Giver. The call to come out is a call to live differently, to hold the world’s goods loosely, and to belong to Christ above every city of man. Babylon will fall. The question each of us must answer is whether we will be found weeping at a distance over her loss, or standing with the heaven that rejoices because God has avenged His people.
Reflection
- The merchants and kings wept over Babylon because their riches and pleasures came from her. What in your own life would you grieve to lose, and does that reveal where your treasure truly lies?
- The voice from heaven said, “Come out of her, my people.” In what specific ways are you being tempted to partake of Babylon’s sins while still calling yourself a follower of Christ?
Prayer
Lord God, strong is the Judge who brings Babylon down, and we confess that we have too often loved her wares more than Your Word. Forgive us for measuring our days by what we buy and hold rather than by faithfulness to You. Give us ears to hear the voice that says, “Come out of her, my people,” and courage to obey it, even when the city shines and the music plays. Keep us from partaking of her sins, that we may not share her plagues. Let our treasure be in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and let us be found among those who rejoice when Your justice comes. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.