Revelation 18:11: And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more

When Babylon burns during the seventh Vial Plague of the Third Woe,¹ the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her.² The merchants are those that engage in commercial enterprises³ that produce the worldly and forbidden⁴ merchandise of Modern Babylon.⁵ The merchants weep not for Babylon, but for themselves, because no man buyeth their merchandise any more.⁶ Revelation 18:12-13 lists the categories of modern idols⁷ and worldly merchandise⁸ that has made the merchants wealthy and Babylon wicked.⁹

When Babylon falls, the demand for her modern idols and worldly goods will collapse.¹⁰ The world economy is at the center of, if not the foundation for, Modern Babylon,¹¹ which Satan manipulates for his evil designs.¹² Babylon's economy enslaves people in the welfare state¹³ and it promotes materialism¹⁴ and a host of other isms.¹⁵ The worldly riches that corrupt and canker the souls of men and women¹⁶ will be eliminated when Babylon burns.¹⁷

Revelation 18:12: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

Revelation 18:12-13 lists seven categories of worldly goods and merchandise that will be devalued and destroyed.¹⁸ Within each of the seven categories there are four worldly items, except for the seventh category that has two groups of people. Four, of course, is the world number.¹⁹ These symbolic categories or types of luxuries illustrate the totality of worldly goods that Babylon's citizens worship like idols.²⁰ They are as follows:

Category 1: Riches represented by hard items of (1) gold, (2) silver, (3) precious stones, and (4) pearls.²¹

Category 2: Luxuries represented by soft items of (1) fine linen, (2) purple, (3) silk, and (4) scarlet.²² These soft items represent the clothing worn by vain and worldly people.²³ The hard and soft categories together describe the adornment and attire of Modern Babylon, including the Great Whore of false religion.²⁴

Category 3: Luxurious furniture,²⁵ which John describes as thyine wood²⁶ and ivory.²⁷ The four types of luxury furniture are the (1) most precious wood, (2) and of brass, (3) and iron, (4) and marble.²⁸

Revelation 18:13: And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

Category 4: John lists four types of aromatics,²⁹ which include (1) cinnamon,³⁰ (2) odours, (3) ointments, and (4) frankincense.³¹

Category 5: Four types of fine food and drink are consumed by Babylon's wealthy worshipers to excess.³² These include the luxuries of (1) wine, (2) oil, (3) fine flour, and (4) wheat.³³

Category 6: Four types of livestock and property belong to the wealthy, which include (1) beasts, (2) sheep, (3) horses, and (4) chariots (carriages).³⁴

Category 7: Slaves or the bodies of people³⁵ represent the seventh and most valuable commodity in Modern Babylon.³⁶ Instead of identifying four types of people in human bondage, John mentions only two groups,³⁷ including (1) slaves and (2) the souls of men.³⁸ These two enslaved groups represent the two citizen groups in Modern Babylon called sons of perdition and telestial-worthy people.³⁹ Sons of perdition will be destroyed as a group by the end of Physical Armageddon during the Second Woe and telestial-worthy people will be entirely destroyed when Modern Babylon falls during the Third Woe at Christ's Second Coming.⁴⁰

The souls of men⁴¹ coupled with slaves is a Hebraism⁴² that fully describes how all wicked people of Modern Babylon are in bondage to her.⁴³ Some scholars misinterpret the word slave in category 7 as groomsmen for the carriages mentioned in category 6.⁴⁴ However, in Modern Babylon all wicked people are slaves to Satan. He buys and sells them like a commodity.⁴⁵ The ancient slave trade in the Roman Empire ⁴⁶ foreshadows the spiritual bondage in Modern Babylon that does and will exist until the Second Coming.⁴⁷ Modern Babylon enslaves the souls of men⁴⁸ with drugs, alcohol, sex, and other worldly addictions.⁴⁹ People are also easily enslaved in Modern Babylon by their love of money and worldly merchandise.⁵⁰

Revelation 18:14: And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

In Revelation 18:14, the voice of God speaks directly to the merchants of Babylon,⁵¹ emphasizing God's forceful message against them.⁵² The seven categories of worldly merchandise in Revelation 18:12-13 are the ripened fruits of autumn⁵³ that the merchants lusted after.⁵⁴ When Babylon falls their fruits will be departed from thee‒which means they will perish.⁵⁵ In other words, the goods of all worldly merchants will be destroyed because these metaphorical fruits are perishable and the Second Coming is the limit of their shelf-life.⁵⁶ When Christ comes again, the citizens of Modern Babylon will be burned with the evil fruit they have gathered.⁵⁷ At that time, their dainty (glossy)⁵⁸ and goodly (sumptuous)⁵⁹ delicacies of food and splendid dress will perish,⁶⁰ and the citizens of Babylon shalt find them no more at all.⁶¹

Modern Babylon is a world economy of evil⁶² that will collapse and become desolate⁶³ when there is no longer a demand for the corrupt fruits of her industry, and when the fruits no longer exist at all.⁶⁴ Her worldly goods that have great value to many people in this telestial world⁶⁵ will have no value to anyone⁶⁶ in the terrestrial world of the millennium.⁶⁷ The following list illustrates the worldly‒and ultimately worthless‒fruits of Modern Babylon: pornography,⁶⁸ prostitution,⁶⁹ addictive drugs and harmful substances,⁷⁰ ungodly music,⁷¹ and many other evils⁷² that appeal to the natural man.⁷³

Revelation 18:15: The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

The merchants of these things are the people and institutions made rich by producing the worldly items described in Revelation 18:12-13.⁷⁴ When Babylon falls and the worldly economy of Satan collapses, the merchants of Babylon shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment.⁷⁵ They will be powerless to stop the burning,⁷⁶ however, and it will shortly consume them as it consumes the kings of the earth.⁷⁷ The weeping and wailing of merchants⁷⁸ will begin as soon as they realize that they have completely lost their income and all their inventory of worldly goods.⁷⁹

Revelation 18:16: And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones, and pearls!

The weeping and wailing merchants of Babylon will mourn, saying: Alas, alas, that great city.⁸⁰ The great city refers to Modern Babylon, which is in the image of the golden city of ancient Babylon.⁸¹ The great city of Modern Babylon is clothed in the goods produced by Modern Babylon's merchants, including fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones, and pearls.⁸² The same clothing was worn, and still is worn, by the woman of false religion that sat on the scarlet coloured beast representing ancient Rome.⁸³

In Revelation chapter 17, an angel explained to John how this woman of false religion anciently evolved into the Great Whore of false religion in the modern era.⁸⁴ The similarity of their dress confirms that the Great Whore of false religion is an integral part of Modern Babylon.⁸⁵ Materialism is obviously one of her false creeds. Her ostentatious and inviting attire deceives many people in the world, who view her as the city of their god.⁸⁶ When Modern Babylon falls, she will be symbolically stripped of all her proud attire and burned naked in the most humiliating manner.⁸⁷