The Fall of Babylon

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on SoundOn

Readings Here

Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Revelation 18:1–2, 21–23; 19:1–3, 9a

In the Bible,

Babylon is more than a city.

Babylon is a symbol.

It is the tower reaching toward heaven.

It is human pride trying to become God.

It is power without humility.

It is wealth without justice.

It is a society where profit matters more

than truth,

than morality,

than the poor,

than God.

Babylon began with the Tower of Babel.

People said:

Let us make a name for ourselves.

But the tower was never finished.

Later, the empire of Babylon

destroyed Jerusalem,

burned the temple,

and carried God’s people into exile.

So Babylon became the name of every power

that exalts itself against God,

oppresses people,

worships idols,

and leads nations away from truth.

For the first Christians,

Babylon also pointed to Rome,

the empire that ruled their world

and persecuted the followers of Christ.

But in Revelation,

Babylon is larger than Rome.

Babylon is every world built without God.

Every system where money becomes an idol.

Every culture where pleasure becomes law.

Every power that silences the prophets.

Then the angel cries out:

Fallen,

fallen is Babylon the great.

This is the judgment of a whole way of life.

The kings mourn.

The merchants mourn.

The traders mourn.

Because Babylon made them rich.

But heaven rejoices.

A great multitude cries out:

Alleluia.

Salvation,

glory,

and power

belong to our God.

Heaven rejoices

because evil does not last forever.

Injustice does not last forever.

The blood of the martyrs is not forgotten.

The tears of the poor are not ignored.

God judges.

And His judgment is true.

Then a mighty angel throws a great millstone into the sea.

So Babylon will fall

and be found no more.

This is a warning.

A world without God may look strong.

A life built on pride may look successful.

A society ruled by money may look glorious.

But without God,

it cannot stand.

Yet Revelation does not end with Babylon.

It moves toward a wedding feast.

The fall of Babylon opens the way

to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

This is the true future.

The Church,

the Bride of the Lamb,

is prepared for the feast.

And every Mass is already a foretaste of that banquet.

Before Holy Communion, we hear these words:

Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.

So let us summarize the message:

Babylon will fall.

The Lamb will reign.

And blessed are all those who are invited

to His supper.

Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Mark

Year of Mark - Get it from Amazon

Scripture Attribution

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Mark

Scripture Attribution

Content License