Passage Read: Revelation 17-18
Meditation Verses: 18:19-20
Thought
The sea captains and sailors and all who make their living from the sea understand what has happened when Babylon the Great is destroyed. They knew all the evil that the city was committing, they enabled it and they profited from it. And they recognize that the destruction of the city is God's just judgment on behalf of the saints and prophets and apostles. Yet they do not repent. Neither, I think, will the saints and apostles and prophets rejoice over the destruction of the city. That's the thinking of worldly people, godless people. That's not their heart. They're not seeking vengeance, though vengeance is promised, justice must be served; their desire, like God's, is the repentance of the wicked, not their destruction. That's why they preached the Gospel to the city and called for repentance, though the city persecuted and killed them.
Application
The wicked know their evil deeds, and they will recognize the just judgment of God when it comes. Babylon will torment and reject the righteous, as wicked men have for generations. The righteous will continue to plead with the inhabitants of the city to repent and save themselves from the destruction that's coming. And when the destruction comes, it will be a sad day for the righteous because of the loss of life. It is natural to desire vengeance; it is natural to desire justice. But the people of God recognize that they have been granted an incredible mercy, instead of suffering the vengeance and justice they deserve. It is unnatural to preach repentance and forgiveness to those who hate you, but that's what believers are called to do. When rejected, I am free to move on, and I should for the sake of those who haven't yet been offered forgiveness, but I don't have to desire the destruction of those who reject salvation. Warn them what their rejection means, yes, but as a last resort, in hope that they will come to their senses and be saved. Can I say that I truly desire the repentance of even those who refuse the Gospel? Would I truly rejoice if I later heard they had repented? Would I genuinely grieve if I heard they died in their stubbornness? I've got some soul-searching to do.