I remember reading and learning in our history books about the great Stock Market Crash of 1929.  It brought disastrous results to those at the top who thought they had the world by the tail.  The stock market crash of 1929 was a collapse of stock prices that began on October 24, 1929. By October 29, 1929, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped by 30.57%, marking one of the worst declines in U.S. history. It destroyed confidence in Wall Street markets and led to the Great Depression. 

Shocking I know, media fed the frenzy that soon took place.  People who worked hard to accumulate their wealth in this way became paralyzed in fear, realizing life as they knew it was gone, being in control of their destiny was no longer theirs to control.  The “self-made man” experienced extreme humiliation.  Some could not imagine losing their lifestyles of elegance, legacies of wealth and took the suicidal route. These once important men who “had it all” jumped out of their New York skyscraper offices to their death because they felt they had lost it all. 

All their hopes were on money and power.  Satan loves that for he knows that if he can lure us to think we hold all the cards in life and control every move that is made, placing all hope on self, he can easily take us down.  His goal for us.

The opposite is true of God.  Our hope in Jesus is eternal, never-ending, unchanging. It is not based on manmade wealth, stock markets, or trades. It doesn’t matter what you have or hold in savings.  All God wants is you and me loving Him back, fully devoted to Him, walking in His ways, protected and provided for by Him, relying fully on His wisdom, insight and understanding.  The One who knows us best what His best for us!

No matter what happens next in our world right now, if we have Jesus Christ at the center of our being, we will be ready for His return.

The devasting Crash of 1929 followed by the Great Depression was a very small event compared to what will happen when God has had enough of those who rely completely on self, led by the Enemy.

REVELATION—JESUS IS COMING BACK!

Revelation 18, The Message

Doom to the City of Darkness

^1-8 Following this I saw another Angel descend from Heaven. His authority was immense, his glory flooded earth with brightness, his voice thunderous:

Ruined, ruined, Great Babylon, ruined!
    A ghost town for demons is all that’s left!
A garrison of carrion spirits,
    garrison of loathsome, carrion birds.
All nations drank the wild wine of her whoring;
    kings of the earth went whoring with her;
    entrepreneurs made millions exploiting her.

Just then I heard another shout out of Heaven:

Get out, my people, as fast as you can,
    so you don’t get mixed up in her sins,
    so you don’t get caught in her doom.
Her sins stink to high Heaven;
    God has remembered every evil she’s done.
Give her back what she’s given,
    double what she’s doubled in her works,
    double the recipe in the cup she mixed;
Bring her flaunting and wild ways
    to torment and tears.
Because she gloated, “I’m queen over all,
    and no widow, never a tear on my face,”
In one day, disasters will crush her—
    death, heartbreak, and famine—
Then she’ll be burned by fire, because God,
    the Strong God who judges her,
    has had enough.

^9-10 “The kings of the earth will see the smoke of her burning, and they’ll cry and carry on, the kings who went night after night to her brothel. They’ll keep their distance for fear they’ll get burned, and they’ll cry their lament:

Doom, doom, the great city doomed!
    City of Babylon, strong city!
In one hour it’s over, your judgment come!

^11-17 “The traders will cry and carry on because the bottom dropped out of business, no more market for their goods: gold, silver, precious gems, pearls; fabrics of fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet; perfumed wood and vessels of ivory, precious woods, bronze, iron, and marble; cinnamon and spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots. And slaves—their terrible traffic in human lives.

Everything you’ve lived for, gone!
    All delicate and delectable luxury, lost!
    Not a scrap, not a thread to be found!

“The traders who made millions off her kept their distance for fear of getting burned, and cried and carried on all the more:

Doom, doom, the great city doomed!
    Dressed in the latest fashions,
    adorned with the finest jewels,
    in one hour such wealth wiped out!

^17-19 “All the ship captains and travelers by sea, sailors and toilers of the sea, stood off at a distance and cried their lament when they saw the smoke from her burning: ‘Oh, what a city! There was never a city like her!’ They threw dust on their heads and cried as if the world had come to an end:

Doom, doom, the great city doomed!
    All who owned ships or did business by sea
Got rich on her getting and spending.
    And now it’s over—wiped out in one hour!

²⁰ “O Heaven, celebrate! And join in, saints, apostles, and prophets! God has judged her; every wrong you suffered from her has been judged.”

^21-24 A strong Angel reached for a boulder—huge, like a millstone—and heaved it into the sea, saying,

Heaved and sunk, the great city Babylon,
    sunk in the sea, not a sign of her ever again.
Silent the music of harpists and singers—
    you’ll never hear flutes and trumpets again.
Artisans of every kind—gone;
    you’ll never see their likes again.
The voice of a millstone grinding falls dumb;
    you’ll never hear that sound again.
The light from lamps, never again;
    never again laughter of bride and groom.
Her traders robbed the whole earth blind,
    and by black-magic arts deceived the nations.
The only thing left of Babylon is blood—
    the blood of saints and prophets,
    the murdered and the martyred.

THINK ABOUT IT…

Do you really believe what God says to be true really real in your life?  Our behaviors will reflect what we value, respect and are in awe of in our world.

Babylon, “the woman”, was not only an ancient city and a powerful empire, but also the symbol of mankind’s rebellion against God.  It birthed other anti-God religions. 

True unity of the Spirit exists among believers, but we must not compromise by joining forces with that which is opposed to Christ.

What specific sins would God judge?

We have already noted Babylon’s evil influence on the nations of the world, seducing them with idolatry. Another sin that will be judged is pride: “She (Babylon) has glorified herself!” (Rev. 18:7)

A third sin is Babylon’s worship of pleasures and luxury. To “live deliciously” (Rev. 18:7) is to live proudly in luxury while others go without. It means to make possessions and pleasures the most important things in life and to ignore the needs of others. John summarized this attitude as “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16).

In one day, the entire economic empire will collapse! But those who have their citizenship in heaven will rejoice at the judgment of God.

Are we ready to rejoice or lament?  It depends on who we believe and place all our hope and faith upon no matter what is happening around us.

Lord,

It is not what I have accumulated that you want.  You want me.  All of me.  You want a person who will put you first, at the beginning of each new day, asking and desiring what you want from us that will grow and mature us in your love.  I get it.  I want it.  I choose you because you chose me.  I love you because you first loved me.  In a world of manipulations, betrayals, and deceiving behaviors caused by self-pride that idolizes what matters least to you, I choose what you value—people who love you back.  And I am one of them.  Abide in me as I abide in You—as promised.  Forever.In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen.  Yes!  Come, Lord Jesus, Come!