Sins That Are Heaped

Day 361: Revelation 18:1-24

“Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.’” - Revelation 18:4-5 ESV

What compromises would you be willing to make in order to succeed financially? Who would you be willing to step on? How much would it take for someone to entice you to recant your faith in Jesus?

Our passage for today marks the antithesis of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21 when He encouraged us to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. As we see in Revelation 18, they will eventually fail. John is prophesying a time when Rome will fall, 400 years before it takes place.

Even slaves are mentioned in the list of marketable items. There were an estimated 10 million slaves in the Roman Empire in the first century, which accounted for 16-20% of its population. John tags an abolitionist-like ending onto it -- "human souls." They were more than numbers and mattered to God.

This chapter in Revelation is a funeral for Babylon (Rome, or any nation that sets itself against Jesus). Some are rejoicing (heaven, Jesus followers), and some are mourning (those who were getting rich off the commerce).

Revelation 18:4 is the reverse of Micah 7:18-19, where it says that God will "tread on our iniquities" and that he will "cast our sins into the depths of the sea."

Nothing is worth enough to exchange it for the grace that God has given us. It has paid off for us, and it will continue to pay off for all of eternity.