The richest man in town had just died.  News of his passing spread quickly around the community. People ventured to guess just how rich the man was.

An old caretaker who worked in the rich man's mansion was spotted going into the barber shop on the day before the funeral.  An inqusitive neighbor followed the gentleman into the barber shop and struck up a polite conversation.  Finally, he came to the point.

"Well, we hear your boss was very rich.   Could you tell me, sir, just how much did he leave?"

The old gentleman replied in a low voice.

"All of it, Sir.  He left all of it." 

Some seem to believe that the world will forever keep on turning--just as it always has (See 2 Peter 3:3 and 4).  But the Scriptures do not teach such.  The Bible teaches that human history is moving from a definite beginning toward a definite conclusion upon earth.

The end of the commercial and political world  is described in Revelation chapter 18, verses 9-18.  (Many scholars believe that "Babylon" refers to both the city and to the commercial and political system that it comes to represent).  Verse 8 describes the earth's view of the fall of Babylon where three words stand out:  death, mourning, famine.  However, the reaction in heaven is given in verse 20, and is characterized by the word rejoice.  

Ships on the mighty Tigris River stop and see where the great ancient city once stood. But it is there no more. Revelation chapter 19 gives us a glimpse of the day the world will stand still: 

Vs. 22   Apparently, the entertainment industry has vanished (22-a).

Vs. 22   Craftsmen are no longer working (22-b).

Vs. 22   Industry is gone; "the sound of the millstone shall be heard no more" 

Vs. 23   The lights are off; there will be just darkness in Babylon.

Vs. 23   Happy times and merriment belong only to the past. 

People all over the earth will be totally shocked (verses 17-19).  The world will be saddened beyond belief (Rev. 18:9,10).

Here is the question for us today.  When we realize that all of these earthly things will vanish away, how does that realization affect us?  Are we so attached to the things and the values of this world that their passing will cause us the same sadness?

Many Christians may be living so close to this present world that they cannot let it go.  Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20 that

Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our lowly body, that it may be fashioned like his glorious body."

It is quite wonderful to enjoy the blessings that God and our labor provide:  comfortable homes, nice cars, good jobs.... God does not condemn the pleasures that our honest labor provides.  In fact, you could say that God provides the means of honest wealth through our hard work and wise investments. 

But Christians must realize that the world will pass away (I John 2:17), "but he who doeth the will of God abideth forever."

Our Savior encourages us with these words:

"Do not lay up treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupt them, and where thieves break through and steal them,

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust will corrupt them, and where thieves do not break through or steal them."  (Matthew 6:19,20)