Friday, October  31, 2008

Seeing the smoke of her fiery ordeal, they cry out, "Who is like the Great City?" They threw dust on their heads and cried out weeping and mourning, "Woe, woe, the Great City, by which Everyone Who Had Ships On The Sea Prospered On Account Of Her Wealth, for in one hour it was laid waste." Rev. 18:18, 19.

Kings, merchants, and sailors all take their turns mourning the passing of Babylon. Revelation 18:9-19 contains the longest extant list of products from the Roman period. John adapts Ezekiel's list of more than 40 products that Tyre traded in his day(Eze. 27:2-24). Ezekiel arranged his list geographically while John structured his topically-by type of cargo(see Rev. 18:12, 13). The focus in Revelation is largely on luxury items, not trade in general.

Rome's newly rich in the first century flaunted their gold and silver. The empire imported the metals from Spain, where it owned a number of mines, but the human cost was high. Slaves who worked these mines rarely lived more than a few years. Merchants brought in precious stones mostly from India, and divers retrieved pearls from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Fine linen came from Spain, Asia Minor, and Egypt. Purple and scarlet cloths served as symbols of affluence and luxury. Silk had to travel from China, so only the ultrarich could afford it. Citron wood, imported from North Africa, was rare enough that a table made with it could cost as much as a large estate. Elephants became virtually extinct within the Roman Empire because of the ivory trade.

Cinnamon originated from Somalia and southward in East Africa. The voyage to there from Rome was a two-year round trip (that means expensive). Other spices had their origin in India, and incense and perfumes came from Arabia and Somalia. Sicily and Spain provided that best wine. In John's day the empire experienced a grain shortage at the same time as it had a wine surplus (cf. Rev. 6:6), because the wine trade was more profitable than grain. "Fine flour" was definetely a luxury item compared to coarse grain. The best flour had to be shipped all the way from Africa.

Even the rich rarely ate beef, since farmers used cattle more as work animals. Herders butchered some sheep for mutton, but most were used to produce wool. Italy did not have sufficient pasture for horses, so the promoters of chariot races brought horses from Africa and Spain in order to provide public entertainment.

John concludes his list (Rev. 18:12, 13) with the "bodies and souls of men." Since the empire was at peace, it had no steady supply of slaves from captives of war. So slave traders rescued babies discarded by the poor. Other slaves were "imported" from Asia.

Lord, help me understand the true cost of self-indulgence. I want to develp a spirit of service instead.

If we have in any manner defrauded or injured our brother, we should make restitution. If we have unwittingly borne false witness, if we have misstated his words, if we have injured his influence in any way, we should go to the ones with whom we have conversed about him, and take back all our injurious misstatements(TFMB 59).