seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 18:11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore— 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.
14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 and cry out:
“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
where all who had ships on the sea
became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’
14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 and cry out:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
where all who had ships on the sea
became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’
20 “Rejoice over her, you heavens!
Rejoice, you people of God!
Rejoice, apostles and prophets!
For God has judged her
with the judgment she imposed on you.”
Rejoice, you people of God!
Rejoice, apostles and prophets!
For God has judged her
with the judgment she imposed on you.”
I'm sorry.... this makes absolutely no sense to me.... This has got to be a vision of a couple of vendors moaning about the way things use to be.... I mean after earthquakes that shift mountains to flat land and bring islands up from the sea bottom.... where would the merchants get any fruit to sell? I bet they could find some ivory, bronze, iron and marble.... but it would have had to been repaired before sale... wouldn't everything be totally wrecked.....
This is from amazingdiscoveries.org.
The “Kings” and governments of the earth thought Babylon would establish God’s kingdom on this earth and solve the problems facing the world. Now they see all that they have worked for destroyed. They “lament” that his dream of an earthly utopia, which would not require dependence on God but only on an external display of surface piety, will never become reality.
The merchants watch the world crash down around them and their riches go up in smoke. They “weep and mourn” and destruction of the financial system which has provided them with riches and luxury at the expense of the less fortunate. The silver and gold, the grand houses and treasure—the gain of a lifetime has all become worthless. A righteous and upright character is the true treasure obtained in this life. The merchants have scorned as worthless the gold of a righteous character, and they have esteemed as priceless the material treasures of this world. Now they are left with nothing.
The merchants watch the world crash down around them and their riches go up in smoke. They “weep and mourn” and destruction of the financial system which has provided them with riches and luxury at the expense of the less fortunate. The silver and gold, the grand houses and treasure—the gain of a lifetime has all become worthless. A righteous and upright character is the true treasure obtained in this life. The merchants have scorned as worthless the gold of a righteous character, and they have esteemed as priceless the material treasures of this world. Now they are left with nothing.
This is from the blueletterbible.org.
Merchandise of gold and silver: This long list needs little explanation, except to note these are all luxuries, not necessities. It is plain that the mourning is rooted in self-interest: for no one buys their merchandise anymore.
And bodies and souls of men: The profits of commercial Babylon have come through cruelly using others. They sold the bodies and souls of men. This idea has many applications, none less so than today's widespread prostitution and pornography.
Those who lived for the luxuries of commercial Babylon will be tormented by hell all the more: you shall find them no more at all. Ultimately, hell will be a place of unfulfilled desire.
"The combined picture is one of complete abandonment to the wealth of this world and complete disregard of the God who gave it." (Walvoord)
And bodies and souls of men: The profits of commercial Babylon have come through cruelly using others. They sold the bodies and souls of men. This idea has many applications, none less so than today's widespread prostitution and pornography.
Those who lived for the luxuries of commercial Babylon will be tormented by hell all the more: you shall find them no more at all. Ultimately, hell will be a place of unfulfilled desire.
My mother got so frustrated with being tempted by food that she came up with a plan I loved.... she decided to eat so much cake that cake would become disgusting. She got the idea when we complained "steak again". Mom figured if we could grow tired of steak [which was not really steak but hamburger patties] then we could tire of the sweet carbs all of us crave. The idea didn't work.... who could ever get tired of layer cake?.... but it does speak to these verses.
It's drawing up on Christmas as I post these verses. I was just rehabbing my gift boxes from last year.... had to tape up some corners and tear off the old stickers so we could wrap up some new memories. I saw one tag that said "To: my love From: me" and I could just see hubby holding that present up so all could go OOOHHHHH and AAAHHH. Even though I have no idea what particular garment was in that wonderful gift to "my love", my heart held a good memory..... a year later....
Yep... I figure the vendors are just remembering the way it use to be.... before the earthquake, meteor showers, meteor strike, sun burst, famine and bugs... horrible bugs.... and weird hangry animals.... I bet they didn't even have a cold beer or nice glass of wine or good hot cup of coffee to reminisce over.
