Is a global market share anti-God?
Well, that is not what should be taken from what we have read thus far. All that the angel has said thus far was that these merchants were world agents, world powers, access granters on the earth. The last part of verse 18 explains their anti-God status. That is why they were judged.
“…and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.” (Revelation 18:23b–ESV)
Let’s recap Babylon. The Devil, Lucifer wanted to be worshiped like God the Father. The Dragon and Beast 1 were the way he embodied himself on the earth to garner human worship. These were spirits; they were not human. The person, the pseudo-Jesus, the anti-Christ was brought onto the scene as Beast #2. That person wanted world domination after the manner of conquerors like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Adolf Hitler. While some of these approximated world domination closer than others none attained it on the scale with which Babylon will. With the coming of the Anti-Christ, however, another story will be told. That story will unfold as a result of Satan’s power and God’s permission.
The anti-Christ will be just that. Through the world-markets he will peddle his style of life and ungodliness. Christian businesses will be denied market access. Companies that do business with Christians will be cut out of the market share.
Here are two modern marketing mantras that may make this clear. The first is Fair Trade. Often world markets exploit the producers. The lowest person on the supply chain gets the smallest share of the profits. To counter this efforts are made to sell products that do not hold the lowest person down. Economic benefit for rural, third-world communities is part of the goal. So in the first world we are urged to buy things with one of these logos on them.
Genetic modification of plants and animals has been going on for thousands of years. People long ago learned principles of selective breeding to make specific offspring. Think of all the variety of dogs the world knows.
In the 20th Century genetic modification moved to the level of individual genes. A lot of the modifications have been very beneficial, but voices have been raised that this is bad for the environment. So…we have a non-genetically modified organisms marketing project.
Tying it together
God tells us in the Holy Scriptures that our world will eventually be unified into a single government. The world capital will likely be a restored Babylon and from a seat there the anti-Christ will direct the planet. Much of the direction will emanate from economic policy. Participation in the global markets will require allegiance to the great ones, the merchants, in Babylon.
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