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. 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.
The fruits the soul lusted after and all things dainty and goodly are the luxuries, abundance, goods and pleasures Babylon desired and enjoyed, which are taken away in judgment and will never be found again. It belongs to the prophecy of Babylon's final fallen condition, reached when rejection of the threefold warning of Revelation 14:6-13 is complete, bringing into view the next great event after that worldwide message. Babylon is mystic Babylon, the fallen and corrupted churches that reject truth for kindred heresies, with kings, merchants, rulers and religious teachers joined in corrupt harmony in false teaching and lawlessness. This departure is God's retributive judgment upon those who continued in sin in the face of great light, in which human pride is buried with treasures and wealth accumulated by fraud. The chapter is present truth and the last work for the world, to be given with power and with no toning down to announce that Babylon is fallen, joined to the call for God's people still in Babylon to separate from her and not partake of her sins or receive her plagues.
Babylon's Fall Foretold
The verse belongs to the prophecy of Babylon's final fallen condition, reached when rejection of the threefold warning of Revelation 14:6-13 is complete. It brings into view the next great event after that worldwide message. At that time God's people still in Babylon are called to separate from her, and those whose hearts are open to truth heed the call, and this final message will accomplish its work.
Babylon is mystic Babylon, the fallen and corrupted churches. It means the churches that reject truth and are converted by kindred heresies, exalting the false spurious Sabbath above the Sabbath blessed and sanctified for the use of man, and holding the immortality of the soul. Kings, merchants, rulers and religious teachers are all joined in corrupt harmony in that Babylon, following false teaching and lawlessness.
The fruits the soul lusted after and all things dainty and goodly are the luxuries, abundance, goods and pleasures Babylon desired, prized and enjoyed. In judgment they are taken away and depart from her, and they are gone and will never be found again and never be recovered.
This departure is God's retributive judgment upon those who continued in sin in the face of great light. Human pride is buried with treasures and wealth accumulated by fraud, when the most costly structures supposed to be fireproof become ashes as Sodom perished in vengeance, when vessels costing immense sums with treasures of gold and silver and human freight sink, and when flattering monuments of greatness crumble in dust. God avenges the widows and orphans who in hunger and nakedness cried to Him for help over oppression and abuse, and He records every good and evil deed. The whole chapter will surely be fulfilled as part of the prophecies of Revelation 12 to 18 now being fulfilled, showing the last events of this earth's history given by God in solemn warning through Christ to John on Patmos, to be kept before the mind in these last days.
Proclaiming Final Warning
This verse belongs to the testing truths for this time and to the very last call of mercy and warning to the churches and to the world. That last call is the last message of warning that all are to hear, now to be given more fully and with a loud voice. In mercy God holds back His judgments while waiting for that warning to be sounded, because many have not yet heard.
The chapter is present truth for this time and the last work to be done for the world. It is to be read whole, and the truths of Revelation 18 and 19 are to be read and understood by all and made known to all. It is to be given with all its power and efficiency by the human agencies God has chosen, with boldness and power, in no measured terms, with no toning down and no muffling of the message for this time. There is to be no diversion into lines that would hinder it and no turning aside into side issues, for it lightens the earth with glory, announces that Babylon the great is fallen and become the habitation of devils and every foul spirit, leaves the world not in darkness, and prepares a people to stand in the great day of God which is fast coming with stealthy, awful dread.
The message is a life-and-death question of the highest importance for this time, because everything is at stake. It is to be strengthened and confirmed and Satan's plans and methods resisted, for he has devised a state of things to bind about its proclamation, and mingles deceptions with truth to create side issues that turn attention from the great issue and the test to be brought upon God's people in the last days. Two parties are arrayed in the world, Christ's people against Satan's army of evil fallen angels working in all deceivableness of unrighteousness to deceive if possible the very elect. Satan gains a great victory if he can keep minds confused about these revelations now, when their perils are upon us.
The scenes of the chapter show what is yet to take place in the cities in great destructions that display the power of God because of the sins of the city. That judgment will bring terrible destruction upon a wicked city, like the judgment that fell upon San Francisco, exposing the wickedness existing in the world today and the importance of obeying God's law. No particular prediction about New York or another city is assigned to this verse alone, but it belongs to the warning about coming destruction on the earth. When the Lord shall arise to shake terribly the earth, terrible scenes will take place whose fearfulness cannot be imagined, for one word from the Lord, one touch of His mighty power, by the turning and overturning of God's power, will throw down the great buildings built story after story in cities, and those massive structures will fall. Then the most costly structures supposed to be fireproof will become ashes as Sodom perished in the flames of vengeance, vessels costing immense sums with their treasures of gold and silver and human freight will sink into a watery grave, and the flattering monuments of greatness will be crumbled in the dust.
The verse rebukes those who have abused privileges and taken advantage of fellow men and calls them to make amends for wrong done. It warns those who believe the prophecies not to ignore God's special indications, show indifference, make light of witnessed destruction, flatter themselves that they will build greater buildings, or defiantly invest means as before, for God will exercise His power to counteract such efforts. Joined to the voice saying Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and receive not her plagues, it requires God's people still in Babylon to separate from her and requires separation from sinful cities to escape their plagues. Those whose hearts are open to truth will heed that call, and this final message will accomplish its work.
These judgments bring a sorrow in the world that no human balm can heal, even before the last great destruction comes upon the world. The description should cause all who read it to fear and tremble and to turn away and work entirely contrary to selfishness. It warns those who reject the light and insist on their own way, who do not love the light and will not come to the light lest their deeds be reproved and will not follow on to know the Lord.