“Alas, alas, for the great city
that was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”
(Revelation 18:16-17 ESV)
Reading through Revelation, the description to Bablyon looks a lot like our own world - devoted to power and wealth.
Luxurious living was the goal that some attained and all strive for. It looks so good, so attractive, that's why our society still craves after it today. But when God's judgement comes, in this case in the form of giving them over to their own desires and letting the natural consequences take place, everything collapses. The veneer of luxury covered a rotten core and in a single hour all the wealth was laid waste. In what seemed like no time, it all collapsed.
We need this reminder. Everything we have can be taken in a moment. Everything we put our trust in can collapse. We need to lift our eyes beyond this world and put our trust in our eternal life with Jesus.
And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 12:16-21 ESV)
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)