JD asks a great question from the sermon series on Revelation: In the last couple weeks we have touched on Babylon and the type of city it will be; my questions are: Is Babylon spared or sheltered in some way from the devastation of the judgments poured out? If not, how is such wealth and opulence available and usable so soon after the global devastation of the judgments? We spent a number of weeks going thru the tough times ahead spiritually and how it will become economically oppressive and devastating worldwide and exponentially so for believers - how does what we are now hearing about Babylon and it's wealth and comfort correlate with what we have previously gone through? World wide famine, economic collapse, enormous loss of human life, natural disasters on a scale unseen previously - and then a city where pleasure rules and stuff is God- where does it all come from in the wake of such devastation and catastrophic losses?
Essentially, she is asking how a city experiencing plenty can exist in a world of devastating want. First, let me affirm what she is saying about the hard times ahead. The second vision in the book of Revelation (Chapters 4-16) outlines an event sequence that consists of three series of seven. Think of them as a line of 21 dominoes representing global natural disasters and political shifts. With the fall of domino seven and domino fourteen, the dominoes that follow take it up a notch from the previous group of seven. JD is exactly right that these will be the worst of times for those who dwell on the earth.
So, how can it be the best of times for Babylon? We are provided with a hint in Rev. 6:6: And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine” (Rev. 6:6). This verse is connected to the third domino. It describes runaway inflation. A denarius (see above for a sample coined in 2nd C. BC) in John's day represented about 3 grams of silver and was the equivalent of a laborer's daily wage. It would buy about 10 quarts of wheat. So John is describing an economic climate in which the value of money has been reduced by a power of 10. Stated in another way, the cost of basic commodities has increased by a factor of 10. No matter how you slice it, this is a description of not much bread for your dough.
But then there is the last phrase, "do not damage the oil and the wine." This suggests a glaring disparity. Those dwelling in the land of subsistence will be in a world of hurt. But those sitting in the lap of luxury will be unfazed - the economic crisis associated with the 3rd domino will not inhibit those who are enjoying the good life. Babylon is not named here but could easily be such a place of living the good life unhindered.
Certainly by the time we conclude the last set of dominoes, whatever protections Babylon has erected will come to naught. But until then, Babylon will hold onto enough of her greatness and grandeur to effectively convince herself that she is beyond the reach of the misfortune that befalls the "little people." Such a grand delusion!
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