The Five Evil Aspects of Nations

GracePointe Church of Christ in Elizabethtown, PA

God’s promise is then elaborated by a series of five “woes” that describe the typical forms of oppression and injustice perpetrated by nations like Babylon. The first two target unjust economic practices, like how wealthy people charge ridiculous interest to keep others trapped in debt, building their own wealth through crooked means. The third woe is a critique of slave labor and those who treat humans like animals, threatening them with violence if they aren’t productive enough. The fourth woe targets the abuse of alcohol by irresponsible leaders. While others suffer under their bad leadership, they’re partying and wasting their wealth on sex and booze. The last woe exposes the idolatry driving such nations. They have made money, power, and national security into gods, offering allegiance to them at all costs and becoming slaves to their own empire. Now, the practices described here aren’t unique to Babylon, and that’s the point. Given the human condition, most nations will eventually become Babylon.