Fall of Babylon, Part 2

Outline: Fall of Babylon, Part 2
Passage: Revelation 18:9-19
Discussion audio (1h28m)

What do the funeral dirges found in Revelation 18 reveal about the sins of Babylon? John borrows heavily from the language of the oracle against Tyre found in Ezekiel 26-28. By examining this judgment oracle, we are able to better understand John’s purpose and message in including the dirges triggered by the fall of Babylon. Each dirge follows a literary pattern that can also help us determine John’s intent of today’s passage.

These dirges emphasize the socioeconomic system that temps the Church to accommodate and adopt it. It is a system based on power and acquisition of wealth, both as a means to establish and maintain security and stability. It is a system that works all too well, but at the expense of turning people into resources to be used, controlled, and abused. Thus the Church must be warned to not succumb to that temptation.