"alas, Babylon!"

“After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice,

‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!

She has become a dwelling place for demons,

a haunt for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

For all nations have drunk

the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,

and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,

and the merchants of the earth have grown rich

from the power of her luxurious living.’

“Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

‘Come out of her, my people,

lest you take part in her sins,

lest you share in her plagues;

for her sins are heaped high as heaven,

and God has remembered her iniquities.

Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,

and repay her double for her deeds;

mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.

As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,

so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,

since in her heart she says,

“I sit as a queen,

I am no widow,

and mourning I shall never see.”

For this reason her plagues will come in a single day,

death and mourning and famine,

and she will be burned up with fire;

for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.’

“And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

‘Alas! Alas! You great city,

you mighty city, Babylon!

For in a single hour your judgment has come.’”

[REVELATION 1:1-10] [1]

The first time I remember becoming aware of the anguished cry, “Alas, Babylon,” was not while reading it in the Book of Revelation, it was while reading the apocalyptic novel, “Alas, Babylon.” [2] As you might surmise, the title of that book was lifted from the Revelator’s description of the anguished response people will have when they witness the overthrow of the world system that is set up in opposition to the Son of God. A day is coming upon the earth, it may be sooner than anyone can expect, when the Risen Lord of Glory brings the final, crushing judgement upon this evil world system. Survivors of that terrible judgement will see the destruction this is at last visited on the earth and bemoan the loss of all they valued, of all they held dear. That day may be closer than we realise, and it is certainly closer than when John wrote the Apocalypse.

“Alas, Babylon!” The cry that will involuntarily escape from multiple lips in that day admits the understanding of those living in those dreadful hours when the whole of life as they have known it will at last have been revealed to be nothing more than a gossamer veil masking reality. All the power the world imagined as reality will at last be exposed as being less substantial than a wisp of smoke. All the wealth that the world valued and sought to accumulate will be transformed into dust—worthless and despised, suited only for the garbage heap. Finally, the prominence for which those of the world thirsted will prove to have been empty. All who live for this dying world will at last be compelled to confess that nothing associated with this world has any permanence and all that is valued by those living for this world is incapable of moving the hand of the eternal God. All that is in the world is destined for dust. And all that live for this world and what the world promises shall at last be exposed as impoverished, destitute, and powerless, for they hold only the things that are destined to perish with the using.

Our concept of what will give us fulfilment is quite meaningless. Almost assuredly, we—and this is especially true of we living in the western world—imagine that we will be happy and our lives will be given meaning if only we have power over others, or that we will be happy if are able to amass possessions, or we will feel fulfilled if we can attain position. However, set against these common misperceptions is wisdom that is found among the sayings of the wise. In the Proverbs, we read,

“As Death and Destruction are never satisfied,

So the eyes or a person are never satisfied.”

[PROVERBS 27:20 NET BIBLE 2nd]

There is an arresting thought! We cannot be satisfied with what our eyes can see!

Solomon made a similar assessment of our drive to accumulate when he penned this dark assessment of human ambition,