In The Revelation of St. John the Divine, the last book in the New
Testament, the Apostle John speaks of “Babylon the great” and says
"For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her
(Babylon’s) immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts
of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become
rich by the wealth of her sensuality." (Revelation 18:3)
I wonder if the name “Babylon” refers not to any specific city or
nation, but is the Apostle John’s metaphor describing the worldwide
culture of escalating greed and corruption that we see around us in
government and industry. In speaking of “the merchants of the earth” and
“the kings of the earth” the Apostle John says: (Revelation 18:8-11)
8 "…in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and
famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who
judges her is strong.
9 "And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and
lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see
the smoke of her burning,
10 standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment,
saying,' Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in
one hour your judgment has come.'
11 "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because
no one buys their cargoes any more….”
~New American Standard Bible
The Greek word for Revelation, Áποκάλυψις – from which the English
word Apocalypse is derived – is used in referring to a disclosure of
truth concerning divine things.
Yesterday I wrote about the Amazon’s ruthless, ongoing destruction
fueled by insatiable greed. In the past several years books and movies
have been produced cashing in on the public’s curiosity about the
“Apocalypse,” making it akin to science fiction for the titillation of
the public.
To me, the truth of the Apostle John’s depiction of Babylon is being
revealed in the degradation of God’s creation and the total disregard
for His sentient beings except as “production units.”
