Title: Lamentation of Judgment (Revelation 18:9-16)
In verses 9-10, “The kings of the earth who committed fornication with her and lived in luxury, when they saw the smoke of the burning smoke, wept and beat their breasts, and stood at a distance for fear of their suffering, and said, “Woe, woe, Babylon, the great city, for one hour! thy judgment has come.” Because the kings of the earth acted like Babylon, they were afraid and mourned because the fall of Babylon meant their own destruction. Verses 9-10 are the lamentations of the emperors, verses 11-16 are the lamentations of the merchants, and verses 17-19 are the lamentations of the captains of ships and the forefathers of the sea.
2. The lamentations of the merchants in verses 11-14, “The merchants of the earth weep and mourn for him, because no one buys them again; their commodities are gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, linen, purple, silk, and red. All kinds of incense wood, and all kinds of ivory articles, all kinds of articles of great wood, and cinnamon, iron, and jadeite; Come in,” he said. The merchants of the earth weep and mourn because Babel is destroyed and no one is buying the goods. They are sad because they do not have a customer for the product. If you list them in order,
(1) Gold - As there is a saying about how a woman can disregard gold and how a cat refuses to eat meat, even among humans with ample food, there will be few who will not compete for valuables. The gate of death is made of gold, but gold is not seen as the gate of death in the eyes of mortals.
(2) Silver - At that time, Rome, the symbol of Babel, seemed to have a burning desire for silver plates. plate. Bowls, kettles, statues, and all dishes for the table, as well as knives and sheaths of pure silver, carried silver things, and slaves were said to have silver mirrors. Rome was indeed a city of silver.
(3) Jewels Pearls - This was the age when people loved jewels and pearls very much. The ranking of gemstones is diamond first, second emerald, patina used for women's ornaments third, and agate used as seal ring fourth. Pearls were especially used when putting a mesh on the heads of women at that time.
(4) Linen, purple, silk, and red cloth - Linen was brought from Egypt and was used by priests and kings. Purple cloth was imported from Phoenicia, and purple was the color of the royal family and the clothes of the rich. Purple paint comes from a type of ancient shell, and a single purple garment cost one hundred pounds of gold because each shell yielded one drop of purple. Silk is common today, but in the vision of Revelation, it was invaluable in Rome at that time.
(5) ivory-usually used for decoration, carved and eaten on furniture, ivory tables.