‘For thy merchants were the great men of the earth. For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.’ By the seductions of the great whore; by her sorceries. What are they? They include the false promises and the lies of this world. The world convinces us that worldliness is good, and you should take hold of as much of it as you can get, as many sensations as you can get – whether they are immoral sensations, or of whatever kind. The more music and rhythm you can possibly get, the better: all these things will you lift your mood, make you happy, fulfil your needs, be a fine alternative to the notion of God. You can forget about God and him and holiness and goodness and glory. You are lied to, constantly. Works of fiction, the world of movies, the television: it’s all sorceries to convince men they can discard the morals of God and that the LGBT people are all the nice people, and the heroes, and the people who have the old moral values are the bad-tempered, spoilsport, horrible, and bitter types. It’s all done by fiction. Is there also a reference to the massive use of drugs in the world? From the Greek word translated ‘sorcery’ we get the English word ‘pharmacy’. It means the use of drugs, either in an unspecified way for poisoning, or for sorcery or magic arts. It is used by the Septuagint in Isaiah 47:9, 12 where it is translated sorceries. The same word is found in the Septuagint in Exodus, where it describes the enchantments of Pharaoh’s magicians as they sought to imitate the signs of Moses. May we say that the modern drug culture which is so prevalent in our society is also covered by this verse?
In chapter 25 Jeremiah prophesies the exile of Judah for seventy years in Babylon and their punishment at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. It may seem strange that the book of Revelation takes a passage which foretells the punishment of Judah at the hands of Babylon and uses the same words to foretell the punishment of Babylon instead, but this only shows the fullness of Old Testament types. Israel stands for the church because it was that nation with which God made a covenant. He blessed them uniquely, and they enjoyed his protection and guidance. Nevertheless, Israel also stands for the world, because the majority of them remained worldlings. But Babylon too represents the world. It is entirely appropriate to take the prophecy that was originally addressed to national Israel and apply it to Babylon. As God’s patience with Israel was exhausted, so his patience with Babylon will be exhausted. As God brought heavy judgments on Judah, so he will bring them upon Babylon, the world. They include the removal of all that makes life bearable in this world. He will remove all joy and all sources of joy. The curse will no longer be softened by common grace.