Passage Read: Revelation 19-20
Meditation Verses: 19:1-3
Thought
Wow! Evidently there will be rejoicing in heaven over the destruction of Babylon! It is not all grief over the destruction of these godless, rebellious people. All of heaven roars in celebration at the judgment of God. It has been long in coming, the Lord suffered her existence and corruption for generations. He watched as Babylon murdered His servants, multiplied the unfaithful among men and spread her wickedness throughout the earth. But the day came when He would tolerate her no more, and He overthrew her in a moment. The beast who hates the Lord hated her as well, and in his hatred, fulfilled the Lord's will against her. And all heaven erupts in celebration. How wicked she was! How good the Lord is to finally bring her evil back upon her own head!
Application
On the one hand, even God takes no joy in the death of the wicked. On the other, it is a glorious day when He destroys the great evil corrupting mankind, the great enemy of all people. The lost, the blind, the unbelieving grieve over their loss of income--not the end of her corrupting reign! The ones oppressed by her wickedness and tormented by her evil ways do have reason to rejoice! She was not just a pawn, not just a patsy, she was full of her own arrogance, willful and deliberate in her corruption of the earth. She had no compassion, no consideration, except for her own lusts. Even many among the God-haters hated her, because all the world and all its people she treated like her own playthings, not just the righteous. The merchants and sea captains and kings of the earth, she didn't care about any of them, as long as they fed her appetites and did her bidding. The righteous received her special attention, but she abused and oppressed and enslaved anyone she wished. Surely there will be many in Hades who celebrate her destruction and God's judgment, just as surely as all of heaven does. The world is filled with wicked people who refuse to believe the Lord and bow to Him, who insist on living their lives by their own wisdom. Many are people I love and care about. Their condemnation will be a cause of grief, but one they've brought on themselves. But there are others who drive corruption, who not only do great evil, flaunting their rebellion against God, but who have the power and influence to abuse the world and recruit others to share in their evil deeds, approving and supporting their wicked schemes and goals. Babylon is the worst of this kind, and when she and her kind receive their just judgment, yes, that should be a day of great joy for me, if I understand how great their wickedness really is. Perhaps my problem is I don't recognize how evil sin is, I still see it too lightly. I'm so quick to overlook it that it seems like no big deal at all to me. And that affects how little compulsion I have to warn others of the consequence of sin and unrepentance. That's why Babylon wouldn't consider me a threat and bother to fight against me; Babylon isn't so bad in my eyes. I need a reset. I need to see what sin is from God's perspective and be offended by it as He is offended. It should incite wrath within me, then compassion--not to overlook it, but to offer the Gospel as their only hope of salvation.