“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” (Revelation 18:20-24, NASB)

I really liked God’s declaration in today’s passage. God makes a declaration of victory over His enemies, especially the great city of Babylon, and encourages His people to rejoice because the day of their victory is also at hand. He said,

“‘Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.’ And a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘Thus will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.’”

The four words that really encouraged me were, “for you against her.” It implies that God has destroyed the city of Babylon because of its offense against the servants of God, the saints, the apostles, and the prophets. Furthermore, the last part of today’s reading actually says, “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” God is for His people and against anyone who is against them! He is for us and against them! How great is this? This is the reason why we should rejoice!

It reminds us of the promise God made to Abraham and his descendants: “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse” (Gen.12:3). God is for His chosen people and against those who are against them. First of all, this promise is for Abraham and his Seed, who is Jesus the Messiah (Gal.3:16). Second, it is a promise to Abraham’s physical seeds, the nation of Israel (Gen.22:17). Finally, it is for every person who becomes Abraham’s spiritual descendants through faith in Jesus Christ (Gen.22:18, Gal.3:29). It is God’s way of saying He will not forget the sufferings of His people, and in due time He will execute judgment through Christ against those who caused them suffering. He is for us and against them.

The time of our enemy’s rejoicing is short. The time of rejoicing for the saints of God is coming, and it will last forever and ever. I will bet that we will look back on the sufferings we endured on earth and laugh about them in heaven, thinking how tiny they are compared to the eternal joy God has given us. Do you remember falling down as a kid and crying about it? I’m pretty sure at that moment it was the most painful thing, and you cried about it. However, do you still experience pain over that fall, and do you still cry about it every night? Of course not. In fact, you probably laugh to yourself thinking how silly you were to make a big deal out of it. Similarly, all our pains, sufferings, persecutions, and even death itself will be brief. God will wipe away all our tears from our eyes, and we will enter into a new heaven and a new earth (Rev.21:1-8), and He will judge every evildoer sitting on His “great white throne” (Rev.20:11-15). This is why God encourages us to “rejoice.” Apostle Paul reminds us, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom.8:31) God for us means that He is against all our enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil. This judgment is not a temporary sentence but an eternal one. All our enemies, Satan, antichrist, false prophet, death, Hades, and every evildoer will be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever and ever. They can no longer do harm. So rejoice, for God is for us and against them!

• What do you think is the main reason for God judging the Great Babylon—for her wickedness and immorality or for shedding the blood of prophets and saints?
• How can we rejoice today when we see our enemies growing in numbers, in power, in wickedness, and in bloodshed?