Revelation Chapter 18 Verses 9-10

9 And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and were wanton with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning; 10 they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! alas! thou great city, thou mighty city, Babylon! In one hour has thy judgment come.”

Verses 9-19 contain three dirges for Rome: The first in verses 9-10 is a dirge sung by kings. The second in verses 11-16 is a dirge sung by merchants, and the third in verses 17-19 is a dirge sung by shipmasters and sailors. Each of these dirges speaks of the greatness, the wealth, and the luxury of Rome.

Are such descriptions of Rome historically accurate? The Talmud says that of the ten measures of wealth that came down into the world, Rome received nine and all the rest of the world only one. Rome’s wealth was concentrated in and controlled by the emperors. Seutonius described Nero this way:

He never wore the same garment twice.... He fished with a golden net drawn by cords woven of purple and scarlet threads. It is said he never made a journey with less than a thousand carriages, with his mules shod with silver.

Seutonius says that Caligula would “drink pearls of great price dissolved in vinegar, and set before his guests loaves and meats of gold.”

Barclay says that “nothing John could say of Rome could be an exaggeration.” Another writes that “our most extravagant luxury is poverty compared with the prodigal magnificence of Rome.” “In the time when John was writing a kind of insanity of wanton extravagance, to which it is very difficult to find any parallel in history, had invaded Rome.”

From an earthly vantage point it seemed that Rome had everything and the church had nothing, but the exact opposite was true!

The kings in these verses placed great faith in the military might and power of Rome. How could they possibly lose while betting on Rome? But what they did not know until it was too late was that Rome is fallen!

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