LOST LUXURY’S LAMENT—Revelation 18:9-19
Babylon’s fall will incite lamentation on the part of her dependents.
Lost luxury produces lamentation in her economic dependents.
What lamentations come to those who are economically dependent?
3 lamentations of the economically dependent.
1—A lament of the economically dependent is for a
LOSS OF SUPPORT(:9-10)
—Explanation/Argumentation:(:9-10) Leading/Power/Sovereignty/Following
:9—“The kings of the earth who committed fornication & lived luxuriously with her will weep & lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning,”
“Kings”—????????—leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king
“Committed fornication”—???????—To prostitute one’s body to the lust of another.
“Luxuriously/Sensuously”—????????—To be wanton, to live luxuriously.—To live with sensual abandon.
“Weep”—?????—To mourn, weep, lament—To weep audibly, cry as a child.
“Lament”—?????—To beat one’s breast for grief—ordinarily done for the dead.
:10—“standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’”
“Torment”—??????????—To torture, torment—A testing by the touchstone. See :15
“Alas”—????—Alas, woe. See 16
“Mighty”—???????—Strong, mighty.
“Judgment”—??????—A separating, sundering; Selection; Judgment; Right, justice.
—Illustration:
Christmas celebration/Loss of Santa—Snowflakes—Fireplace —Skiing—Deer season/Not focus of Christmas/LOSS OF SUPPORT
—Application:
?You Lament a Lost SUPPORT?
?You Lamenting Lost Luxury?
?You Economically Dependent?
2—A lament of the economically dependent is for a
LOSS OF TRADE(11-17a)
—Explanation:(:11-17a) Finance/Barter/Competition/Game
:11—“And the merchants of the earth will weep & mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:”
“Merchants”—???????—One on a journey, whether by sea or by land, esp. for trade; A merchant as opposed to a retailer or petty tradesman
“Weep”—?????—To mourn, weep, lament—To weep audibly, cry as a child. See :9, 16.
“Mourn”—??????—To mourn; mourn for or lament one; Grieve—passionate lamentation of any kind, so great that it cannot be hid.
“Merchandise”—?????—A lading or freight of a ship, cargo, merchandise conveyed in a ship; Any merchandise.
“Buy”—???????—To be in the market place, to attend it; To do business there, buy or sell; Of idle people: to haunt the market place, lounge there.
:12—“merchandise of gold & silver, precious stones & pearls, fine linen & purple, silk & scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, & marble;”
TREASURE & ORNAMENT—JEWELRY:—Zales/ Friedman’s
“Precious”—??????—Of great price, precious; Held in honor, esteemed, especially dear.
ATTIRE:—The Men’s Warehouse/S&K Menswear/Belks/ Parisiene
“Fine linen”—??????—A species of Egyptian flax; Linen made from byssus, very costly, delicate, soft, white & also of a yellow color.—‘Linen is valued for its strength, lustre, durability, & moisture absorbency. It is resistant to attack by microorganisms, & its smooth surface repels soil. It is stronger than cotton, dries more quickly, & is more slowly affected by exposure to sunlight. It can be bleached to a pure white....Because linen absorbs & releases moisture quickly & is a good conductor of heat, linen garments have a cooling effect on the wearer.’—Encyc. Britannica
“Purple”—???????—A species of shell fish or mussel used to make purple dye.
Acts 16:14—“Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.”
“Scarlet”—????????—Crimson, scarlet colored; Scarlet cloth or clothing. The grain or berry of the "ilex coccifera"; these berries are the clusters of the eggs of a female insect, the "kermes" (resembling the cochineal), & when collected & pulverised produces a red which was used in dyeing (Pliny).
FURNISHINGS:—Gratify the fully functional house w/ its richness & appeal—Comfort settled.—Turner’s Fine Furniture/Ethan Allen
“Citron wood/Thyine”—??????—The citrus(citrus medica), an odoriferous North African tree used as incense, prized by the ancient Greeks & Romans on account of the beauty of its wood for various ornamental purposes. Used esp. in dining tables. —‘Small evergreen tree or shrub in the family Rutaceae, cultivated in Mediterranean countries & the West Indies. It grows to about 3.5 m (11.5 feet) high & has irregular, spreading, spiny branches....The oval or oblong fruit is protuberant at the tip, about 12 to 15 cm (5 to 6 inches) long, & furrowed. The inner portion of the adhesive rind is thick, white, & fleshy; the outer is thin, greenish yellow, & fragrant. The pulp is firm, either acidic or sweet, & used only for by-products. The thick peel is cured in brine, candied, & sold as a confection. The fruit of the Etrog variety of citronis used in Jewish religious rites.’—Encyc. Britannica
“Object/Vessel/Article”—??????—A vessel; An implement.
“Bronze/Brass”—??????—Brass; What is made of brass—coins.—Thayer. An alloy of copper & tin—Bronze—Or of copper & zinc—Brass.(ISBE).
:13—“& cinnamon & incense, fragrant oil & frankincense, wine & oil, fine flour & wheat, cattle & sheep, horses & chariots, & bodies & souls of men.”
SCENTS:—Gratify the senses—Yankee Candle
Harlots perfumed their beds with these.
“Spice”(NASB)—??????—Without blemish; Faultless, Unblamable.
“Incense/Odours”—???????—An aromatic substance that is burnt.
“Fragrant oils/Ointments/Perfume”—?????— Myrrh; Ointment; Perfumed oil.
“Frankincense”—???????—An important incense resin. Frankincense is obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia (family Burseraceae)....which are found in Somalia, the Hadhramaut region of Yemen, & Oman. Incisions are made in the trunks of the trees, & the frankincense exudes as a milk like juice that hardens on exposure to air.
FOOD:—Gratify the palate—Harvey’s/Winn-Dixie
“Oil”—??????—Olive oil—for fuel, healing, anointing.
“Flour”—?????????—The finest wheat flour.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS:—Food, Clothing, Work
“Cattle”—??????—A beast esp. a beast of burden—Signifies a 4-legged animal as opposed to fishes & birds.
“Sheep”—????????—Any four footed, tame animal accustomed to graze, small cattle (opp. to large cattle, horses, etc.), most commonly a sheep or a goat.
MILITARY SUPPLIES:
“Horses & chariots”—
FORCED LABOR FORCE:
“Bodies/Slaves”—????—The body of men & animals; That which casts a shadow as distinguished from the shadow itself.
“Souls/Human lives”—????—Breath, The soul—The seat of the feelings, desires, affection.
:14—“The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, & all the things which are rich & splendid have gone from you, & you shall find them no more at all.”
The very soul of the merchants is consumed with the fruit of their trade—the production of more. That fruit is now gone with the passing of Babylon. All the things which signify richness & splendor to the merchants are also gone with her destruction. This wealth will never be recovered by these merchants.
“Fruit”—?????—The season which succeeds summer, from the rising of Sirius to that of Arcturus, i.e. from late summer, early autumn, our dog days—A time of retiring from hard labor of the harvest; Ripe fruit of trees.
“Soul”—See :13—????—Breath, The soul—The seat of the feelings, desires, affection.
“Longed for”—????????—Desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust.
“Rich/Dainty/Luxurious”—???????—Things which pertain to a sumptuous & delicate style of living.
“Splendid/Goodly”—???????—Shining; Splendid, magnificent.
:15—“The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping & wailing,”
Merchants will distance themselves from her out of fear for her torment she has undergone—recognizing that they are part of & in league with the problem & the reason for her demise.’
“Rich”—???????—To be rich, have abundance; Richly or affluently supplied.
“Torment”—See:10
“Weeping”—See :10& 11, 15 & 19
“Wailing”—??????—in :11—“Mourn”—Grieve—passionate lamentation of any kind, so great that it cannot be hid. See :10,11 & 19.
:16—“& saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, & scarlet, & adorned with gold & precious stones & pearls!”
“Alas”—See :10—????—Alas, woe.
:17a—‘For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ ....”
“Nothing/Come to naught/Laid waste”—See :19—??????—To make desolate, lay waste; To ruin, bring to destruction; To despoil one, strip of treasures.
Argumentation:
Isa. 59:2—“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”
Num. 32:23—““But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; & be sure your sin will find you out.”
—Illustration:
Consider....?If you could buy nothing for Christmas?—What would you give?/Would the love of God in Christ shine thru?/LOSS OF TRADE
—Application:
?You Lament the Loss of TRADE?
?You Lamenting Lost Luxury?
?You Economically Dependent?
3—A lamentation of the economically dependent is for
LOSS OF TRANSIT/TRANSPORT(:17b-19)
—Explanation/Argumentation:(:17b-19)
:17b— “‘For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, & as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance”
“Shipmaster”—??????????—Steersman, helmsman, sailing master.
“Travel/Company/Passenger”—??????—A multitude of men gathered together, a crowd, a throng.—Tourism
“Sailor”—??????—A sailor, seaman, mariner.
“Trade”—ergazomai—To work, labor, do work; To trade, to make gains by trading, "do business"; To do, work out—Exercise, perform, commit—To cause to exist, produce; To work for, earn by working, to acquire.
:18—“& cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’”
All who are sustained & free thru shipping do as the merchants themselves did...they “stood at a distance.” These too, like the merchants, “cried out” with a lamentation for the city, whose destruction they were witnessing. There is none other like “this great city”. their hope is in the city & what it provided.
:19—“They threw dust on their heads & cried out, weeping & wailing, & saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’”
“Made desolate/Come to naught/Laid waste”—See :17a—??????— To make desolate, lay waste; To ruin, bring to destruction; To despoil one, strip of treasures.
“Weeping & wailing”—See :10 , 11&15
—Illustration:
Goods from , Europe, Asia,Japan, China—By sea!/New York, Savannah, Los Angeles would dry up/
Greatest cure in the world/No transit=No cure/Loss of TRANSIT
—Application:
?You Lament the Loss of TRANSIT / TRANSPORT?
?You Lamenting Lost Luxury?
?You Economically Dependent?
—CONCLUSION—
Action:
The lament of the economically dependent is for a Loss Of...
SUPPORT(:9-10)
TRADE(11-17a)
TRANSIT/TRANSPORT(:17b-19)
by—Casting Crowns:
“Voice of Truth”
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I’m in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He’s holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I’ve tried before & failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time & time again. “Boy, you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”
Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
The voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose o listen & believe the voice of truth.
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling & a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they’d have had the strength to stand
But the giant’s calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I’ve tried before & failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time & time again, “Boy you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”
But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don’t seems so high
From on top of them lookin’ down
I will soar with eagles
When I stop & listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me
I will choose to listen & believe the voice of truth
Presented 12/19/04pm to:
Immanuel Baptist Church
712 Airport Road
P.O. Box 1065
Kinston, NC 28501
Presented 10/24/04am to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 39897
