“Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn'” (Revelation 18:7 NIV).
Revelation 18:7 speaks of Babylon and the “…luxury she gave herself.” So, in addition to the qualities of self-honor and self-praise that characterized those who took part in this corrupt economic system, we can add one more quality: self-indulgence. That attitude expressed little or no empathy for those in need and no willingness to assist the less fortunate. Instead, the individual desire for comfort and personal gratification took precedence.
The latter half of verse seven reveals another disturbing aspect of that mindset: “…she keeps telling herself: ‘Here I sit, a queen! I am no widow, I will never know grief’” (GNT). If we were to paraphrase that response from a first-person perspective, we might do so by saying, “Don’t you know who I am? I’m not like other people. Nothing bad will happen to me.”
Most of us have probably encountered others who exhibit a similar mindset, but hopefully, those individuals are relatively few in number. The issue is that such attitudes will be widespread among these future populations. Unfortunately, there is a cost associated with that mentality, and we will close this portion of our study with a look at that price…
“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ “
And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.
The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one hour such great riches came to nothing’…” (Revelation 18:9-17).