Bible In Poetry: Revelation 18 Poem by Dr John Celes

1Another angel from heaven,
Came down with great authority;
His splendor illumined the earth.
2 With mighty voice he shouted then:
'Fallen is Babylon the Great!
A home for demons, she has turned;
A haunt for evil spirits all,
And unclean, detestable bird.
3 For, nations fully drank in her
Madd’ning wine of adulteries.
Kings committed adultery,
And earth’s merchants grew richer soon,
From her excessive luxuries.'
4 I heard a voice from heaven say:
'Come out of her, my people all,
So that, you will not share her sins,
And you will not receive her plagues;
5 Her sins are piled up to heaven,
And God has remembered her crimes.
6 To give her back as she deserved;
Pay her double for her misdeeds,
Double portion from her own cup.
7Give her as much torture and grief,
As glory, luxury she’d had.
For in her heart she boasted then,
'I sit as queen; I’m not widow,
And I will never mourn at all.'
8 In one day’s time, her plagues therefore
Will overtake her ruthlessly:
Death, mourning famine, all over.
She will be consumed by fire,
For mighty Lord God judges her.
9'When kings of earth who committed
Adultery with her and shared
Her luxury, then see the smoke
Of her burning and destruction,
They’ll weep and mourn over her loss.
10 And terrified by her torment,
They will stand far off and cry aloud:
“O 'Woe! O Woe, to city great!
O Babylon, city of pow’r!
In one hour’s time, your doom has come! '
11'The earth’s merchants will weep and mourn
O’er her because now buys no one
Their cargoes from them any more—
12 Cargoes of gold, silver and pearls;
Precious stones, fine linen and silk,
Scarlet cloth; things of citron wood,
And articles of every kind,
Of ivory and costly wood,
Bronze, iron and costly marble;
13 And cargoes of cinnamon, spice,
Of incense, myrrh and frankincense,
Of wine and olive oil, flour, wheat;
Cattle, sheep; horses, carriages;
And bodies, souls of men, women.
14' They’ll say, 'The fruit you longed for long
Is gone from you in moment’s time;
Your riches, splendor have vanished,
And never will be recovered.'
15 The merchants too who sold these things,
And gained their wealth from her will stand
Far, terrified at her torment.
They’ll weep and mourn 16and cry aloud:
“O Woe! O Woe, O great city,
Dressed in linen, purple, scarlet,
Glittering gold, precious stones and pearls!
17In one hour, great wealth has vanished! '
'Every sea captain, and traveler
By ship and sailors, and all men
Who earn their living from the sea,
Will stand far off, in poverty.
18 And when they see her burning smoke,
They will exclaim, 'Was there ever
A city like this great city? '
19 And they will throw dust on their heads,
And weeping, mourning cry aloud:
“O Woe! O Woe, O great city,
Where all who had ships on the sea,
Became so rich through her great wealth!
In one hour, she is in ruin!
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven!
Rejoice, saints, apostles, prophets!
God judged her for the kind of way,
She treated you, when upon earth.' '
21 A mighty angel picked up then,
A boulder, size of large mill-stone
And threw it into sea, and said:
'With similar a violence,
The great city of Babylon
Will be thrown down, ne’er to be found.
22 Music of harpists, musicians,
And flute players and trumpeters,
Will ne’er be heard in you again.
No workman or any trader
Will e’er be found in you again.
The sound of a grinding mill-stone
Will ne’er be heard in you again.
23 Lamp’s-light will never shine in you.
The voice of bridegroom and of bride
Will ne’er be heard in you again.
Your merchants were world's greatest men.
Your magic spell misled nations.
24 In her was found the blood of saints,
Prophets and all killed upon earth.'

Copyright by Dr John Celes 7-28-2007