17 For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”
And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,
“What city was like the great city?”
19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,
“Alas, alas, for the great city
where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For in a single hour she has been laid waste. –
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has given judgment for you against her!” – Dagne feredebign and Dagne feredelign are my English transliteration of two Amharic sentences which translated into English make all the difference in the world for those who are sitting before the ‘Dagne’, the Judge. As you see in the second word there is only one letter different – instead of a ‘b’ in the first, in the other an ‘l’. The first is ‘The Judge decides against me, the second the Judge decides for me! Who is the Judge mentioned here? The passage tells us – “God has given judgment for you against her!”
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
22 and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,
will be heard in you no more,
and a craftsman of any craft
will be found in you no more,
and the sound of the mill
will be heard in you no more,
23 and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of all who have been slain on earth.” – The ‘no mores‘ add up and God gives the reason as to why His Judgement is what it is!
Comment: today and yesterday we have the reasons why the Judge put the ‘b’ in the judgement which he gave against the city, the kings, merchants and seafarers! Then he states what will be the result of his judgement! Tomorrow we read what happens for the ‘feredelign’ group. Those who get His approval!
Isaiah 13: 19-20 – And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there. -the Babylon of Isaiah and Jeremiah’s prophecies has gone. The prophecies are fulfilled and the site where Babylon was, today is in ruins. Babylon as used in the prophecy described in Revelation refers to the descriptions of the evil city in prophecies like the above.
Prayer: Please keep me strong minded to resist evil and instead do good!