‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ goes up the cry. The mother of prostitutes, who intoxicated the inhabitants of the earth with temptations of sex, money and power has finally met her end, as described in the beginning and end of Rev 18.
Sandwiched between the 2 descriptions of Babylon’s downfall is a series of woes. Kings, Merchants and Sea Captains all lament how they can no longer enjoy the opulent luxuries they accumulated through their affiliation with the great harlot. Yet notice who is missing from the supply chain; the labourers who pick the tea leaves, mine the minerals or manufacture the goods. They don’t get rich from Babylon; they get exploited.
So what are Christians to do about this? V. 4 says ‘come out of her, my people’. This doesn’t mean we are to leave this world, or even civilisation. God wants his people living in Babylon, to snatch as many from the flames as we can (Jude 23). What it means is we are not to engage in a grab for opulent luxuries, particularly at the expense of the poor.
This is why Christians must be prudent in our spending habits. We are to avoid spending large amounts of money on a lavish lifestyle, with expensive cars, jewellery, watches and clothes. Yet just as dangerous is buying ultra-cheap items, as someone needs to be exploited somewhere along the supply chain to produce a pair of jeans for just $50.
If we Christians are to ‘come out of’ Babylon, then we must have our eyes open. We must do our research and buy products from those who are at least trying to pay their supply chain a fair wage. This will eat into our level of wealth. But it is no different to what Jesus was willing to do for his people (2 Cor 8:9). So may we become a little poorer, so that the poor may become a little richer.
