The Great Harlot – Part Five

In the 18th chapter of his Book of Revelation, St. John described how an angel came to him in a vision and revealed a series of events that would unfold upon the earth at a time that would coincide with the physical return of Jesus – the once and future Christ. Among the events that the angel described was the destruction of a mystery woman who bore the inscription on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth“.

According to the angel, this mystery woman would be utterly destroyed in the great and terrible day of the Lord, because it had become “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird“. There is little doubt that the angel was referrring here to the international system of finance and trade that now dominates the world. Not only would it be destroyed, but this destruction would take place in a single hour.

St. John graphically describes the reactions of merchants and financiers around the globe to the sudden destruction of everything that they had labored so long and so hard to achieve:

“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

“The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,  and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.” (Revelation 18:9-13)

It is clear from the above list of commodities that the “great city Babylon” refers to everything that is bought and sold, and that were St. John have been able to write from the hindsight of the modern era, he would no doubt have included such “delicacies” as stocks, bonds, debentures, investment funds, credit default swops and the like! And a disaster of global proportions that was capable of destroying the entire system of international finance and trade in a single hour would devastate merchants everywhere.

“The merchants of these things, which were made rich by these things, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

“For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every ship-master, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many trade by sea , stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate” (Revelation 18:15-19)

The lamentations so vividly described by St. John clearly refer to a global disaster that not only devastates the land, but affects the oceans as well, leading to an imense loss of cargo and shipping. The cause of such a sudden world-wide catastrophe would appear to come from the heavens, such as would occur if the earth were to be struck by an asteroid, and this is what St. John describes:

“Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.” (Revelation 18:20-21)

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 at 2:35 pm and is filed under Babylon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comments and pings are closed.