Nevermore

Series on Revelation

II The Viewpoint

E Cycle Five, Seven Messages of Judgment on Babylon

5 The Millstone

Text: 18:21-24

Introduction

The end of Babylon described in verse 21 sounds a little like a Mafia elimination with cement boots, Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. It reminds me of Jesus words in Mark 9:42, And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. The language of this text also reminds me of a poem by Edgar Allen Poe, “The Raven.” As you read through this text you see repeated over and over again the word never: never found, never heard, never shine. Poe wrote about lost love, probably mourning the loss of his dead wife. As he laments there is a tapping at the door which turns out to be a Raven. Poe writes, “”Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil! — prophet still, if bird of devil! Whether Tempter sent, or whatever tempest tossed thee ashore, Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted — On this home by Horror haunted — tell me truly, I implore — Is there — is there balm in Gilead? — tell me — tell me, I implore!” Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.” “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil! — prophet still, if bird or devil! By that Heaven that bends above us — by that God we both adore– Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore — Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.” Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.” This distressing description of hopelessness certainly mirrors the fate of Babylon the great. The haunting refrain of Poe’s poem “nevermore” is reflected on our text in John’s oft repeated words, never found, never heard, never shine. The city is “nevermore.” In this elegy in Revelation 18 we see that life is destroyed. There is no song, no skill and no sharing.

I No Song

In verse 22 we read, The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. Life without music. For most of us this would be intolerable. Psalm 118:14 says, The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. Have you ever noticed that the Bible is filled with songs. Songs of believers united, songs of believers alone and suffering or rejoicing, songs of victory, songs sung by the very mountains joining in praise, and a whole song book which we call the Psalms. One can hardly read the book of Revelation without seeing this. In Revelation 5, 14 and 15 we see the redeemed sing a “new” song which no one else can sing. Many passages in Revelation and other New Testament books which are not identified as songs per se are poetical compositions meant to be sung. Almost every victory in the Old Testament was celebrated in song, and Israel captive in Babylon cries out, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” The words of the prophets are filled with songs. Even God sings in the Bible as in Isaiah 5:1 and 2, I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Believers are commanded to sing as in Ephesians 5:19 and James 5:13, Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, and Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Can you even imagine a worship service without singing. The Directory of public worship of the Presbyterian Church in America reminds us in 47-8 and 9, “It behooves God’s people not only to come into His presence with a deep sense of awe at the thought of His perfect holiness and their own exceeding sinfulness, but also to enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise for the great salvation, which He has so graciously wrought for them through his only begotten Son and applied to them by the Holy Spirit…The Bible teaches that the following are proper elements of worship service: reading of Holy Scripture, singing of psalms and hymns, the offering of prayer, the preaching of the Word, the presentation of offerings, confessing the faith and observing the Sacraments; and on special occasions taking oaths.” There is a time, however when God becomes tired of listening to music when the worship is devoid of real devotion as he says in Amos 5:23 and 24, Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Thus it is in Babylon, the great city of man where injustice is rife and righteousness gone. Here the song will be heard no more. In his “Singer” trilogy, Calvin Miller has captured the essence. All is song. He retells the New Testament in three movements. Book 1, The Singer, is a depiction of the life of Christ. Book 2, The Song, describes the spread of the gospel by the early church. And Book 3, The Finale, looks forward to the end of history and God’s ultimate triumph over evil. We are studying the finale of the song here. The song of the singer Christ cannot be silenced. The narrative begins with the words, “In the beginning was the song of love. Alone in empty nothingness and space It sang itself through vaulted halls above Reached gently out to touch the Father’s face.” All began with a song and ends with a song, but in Babylon the song will not be heard.

II No Skill

We move from the song and the arts to the workman’s skills. These too are silenced. They will not be seen or heard in Babylon as we also read in verse 22, No workman of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. If there is anything we are proud of in the twenty-first century it is our technology. For many people our technology is the god which will solve all our problems. Not only will we sail to the stars and explore the vast limits of the universe, but we will heal all diseases and even conquer death so that we will not age. It’s total bunk, but many people really think that way. It does not matter whether it is the carpenter at his bench or the worker in a steel mill, or the builder of homes and highways, or the professor at a first rate university, or the scientist at his lab table, they are all gone even the so called unskilled labor which is really just a different skill. God gave us creation mandates at the beginning. Men were to preserve and develop this planet under God. We have done it for sure, but we have done it for ourselves and the results are hunger, famine, disease, destruction of our resources, depressions, and wars. We live in a mess and it is all our fault, and God will destroy all that we have accomplished for our glory. Only what is Soli Deo Gloria will remain, and that which has been done for the glory of God will have a place in the new heavens and the new earth. When the workman comes to repair your house he most often has to tear out the old to put in the new. Demolition precedes renovation. Babylon must be replaced by the city of God, the New Jerusalem. What we see here is the demolition and what we will see in chapters 21 and 22 is the renovation.

III No Sharing

During the Second World War and the threat of enemy bombing raids we had air raid wardens and extensive blackouts. I can remember being at Temple University stadium in Philadelphia, PA during that time They shut off all the lights and asked everyone to light a match in order to show how visible even that little bit of light could make us to the enemy. It was pretty bright. This practice of blackouts gave rise to a popular song, “When the Lights Go on Again.” The lyrics went like this, “When the lights go on again all over the world And the boys are home again all over the world And rain or snow is all that may fall from the skies above A kiss won’t mean “goodbye” but “Hello to love” When the lights go on again all over the world And the ships will sail again all over the world Then we’ll have time for things like wedding rings and free hearts will sing When the lights go on again all over the world.” Our text reminds me of that in verse 23, The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. This speaks to our sharing and social relationships. During the war they were put on hold and now for Babylon they end forever. Jeremiah prophesied about his own people in 25:10, I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. Is there any occasion more joyous than a wedding? It is one of the few social occasions at which the Scripture records Jesus being present in John 2. It is one of the greatest times of celebration in a person’s life, but the wedding bells are silenced. The first thing God created was light and it is the last thing he extinguishes in wicked Babylon. The switch is tripped and it is all darkness and despair.

Conclusion

Is it just? Is it fair? Is it right? Yes it is. As we are told in verses 23 and 24, Your merchants were the world’s great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth. The covenant God made with Noah contained this statement in Genesis 9:6, Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind. Those who shed the blood of prophets and saints in Babylon thought they escaped punishment because men would not obey God’s mandate in Genesis 9:6. Now God will shed their blood, every drop. This is divine justice, and it is very right. Good bye Babylon. You will not be missed because you fostered that worldwide spirit of alienation from God which has corrupted every form of human life everywhere.