Revelation 18 Devotional

Riches That Vanish in an Hour

“Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.”Revelation 18:4 (BSB)

Revelation 18 is a long lament over a city's fall. Babylon had exalted herself and indulged in luxury, telling herself she was a queen and would never know grief (18:7). Then in a single hour it was all gone (18:10, 17, 19). Kings, merchants, and sailors stand at a distance and mourn for what they have lost: gold, silk, spices, wine, and at the end of the list, the bodies and souls of human beings (18:11-13).

That last item exposes the heart of Babylon. Her wealth was built on people treated as goods, and on the blood of God's prophets and saints (18:24). God's judgment on her is justice for those she destroyed, which is why heaven is told to rejoice (18:20). Before the lament comes a call from heaven to God's people to come out of her, so they will not share her sins or her plagues (18:4). Babylon's appeal is real, and so is its end. Because that end is certain, you can hold this world's riches loosely and refuse what they cost others.

To think about: Where might you be sharing in the world's love of luxury in ways that cost others, and what would coming out look like?