Revelation 18:8-20 / Three Woes
Rings of Power
Revelation 18 is about who suffers when evil finally reaps the destruction it has sewn. Perhaps the best way to picture verses 8-20 as three concentric circles where the most significant concentration of power and wealth is at the center, and as you move to the second and third rings there is less and less power. But the great revelation, if you will, is that each suffers equally. Those on the outer rings who haven’t been beneficiaries of the opulence of Rome still suffer the same fate: loss, destitution, and hopelessness.
The Kings (vs9-10)
They represent the governmental powers of the nation who, through their allegiances with Rome, commit the offenses found in verse 3: “The nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries,” and they “grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
John is describing people who sell themselves, to Babylon in exchange for pleasures of the world… wealth and opulence, and a little golf with the emperor. They are self-seeking, they are not brave. They would never risk themselves, their jobs, their positions, or their power in order to rescue those below them.
The Merchants (vs11-17)
At first, John’s audience might feel bad for the Merchants because the market has collapsed; they sit upon mountains of merchandise with no-one to purchase it!
The list of wares in verses 11-13 mimic Ezekiel 27:12-22, but it has been updated to describe the trading of Rome. Look at how the list unfolds: pretty things, jewelry and fancy rocks, nice cloths, gourmet food, and farm animals (how cute!)… and horses (uh-oh)… and chariots (things are starting to turn)… And slaves… (and now we are seeing the method by which such riches are stockpiled). The only way to amass this kind of wealth in the ancient world was by taking advantage of the bodies of others through slavery and predatory economic practices…
The Sea-Farers (vs17-20)
These are not necessarily the powerful, these are not the wealthy. These are the ones whom the powerful and wealthy need to enslave and oppress. They are regular people, but the beast has offered them some part in his work in exchange for lifting themselves a little higher on the societal ladder.
This is a literary turn that packs a huge punch as John describes the horrible activities that take place, and then follows the supply chain all the way back to themselves and the small parts that they might be playing in it all.
John is forcing the reader to confront her own activity; the ways that they have propped up the evil system.
NT Scholar, David DeSilva, says: “John understood that a person cannot share in the profits of domination without also sharing in its crimes.” (Seeing Things Johns Way, 47).
Herein lies the stark difference between those who gather in the name of Babylon and those who gather in the name of Jesus:
• Those who gather round the Beast share one curse, despite uneven participation.
• Those who gather round the Lamb, find equal grace, regardless of piety or spiritual performance.
Discussion Questions:
1) If you were raised in the church, what were you taught about the appropriate role of Christians in the empire?
2) Have you struggled with the ethics of your own work? If so, have you made any changes?
3) Presumably, many of us work in fields that, in one way or another, exhibit love of money over people. How can we as Christians disrupt in ways that are Christlike and restorative?
4) John uses stories to reveal these truths to the seven churches. How can we converse with other Christians on this topic in a way that neither judges nor condemns, but reveals?