"In a Single Moment"

Scripture Passage

Revelation 15:1-18:24

Scripture Focus

“In a single moment it is all gone.” (Revelation 18:19 NLT)

Observation

Chapter 18 opens with a powerful angelic declaration—“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!” (Revelation 18:1 NLT) As a prominent and pagan ancient city, the image of “Babylon” captures all of this world that is built on human strength, human wisdom, and human values—and likewise everything that stands opposed to God. The angelic pronouncement is clear—it’s over. “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!”

The striking thing about this pronouncement is how quickly Babylon crumbles. “In a single moment” becomes a dominant phrase in the chapter. It appears in verse 10—“In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.” It appears in verse 17—“In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone.” And it appears in verse 19—“In a single moment it is all gone” (Revelation 18:10, 17, 19 NLT).

I remember watching the collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. How suddenly everything changed! How remarkably fast that which seemed an icon of strength and permanence toppled to the ground, claiming the souls of thousands in a moment. So it will be—on a much broader scale—when this pronouncement is made. “In a flash,” the Bible says, “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52 NIV). All that once seemed so permanent and abiding will be gone.

The frail impermanence of that which seems so enduring is a most-neglected theme these days. Odd that such is the case, given how quickly everything around us is changing. But I shouldn’t be surprised—that’s exactly how Jesus described it: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26 NIV). Just that quickly—“in a single moment.”

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