An analysis has been carried out to study the combined effects of radiation absorption and chemical reaction on an incompressible, electrically conducting and radiating flow of a Rivlin-Ericksen fluid along a semi-infinite vertical permeable moving plate in the presence of a transverse applied magnetic field. It is assumed that the suction velocity, the temperature and the concentration at the wall are exponentially varying with time. The dimensionless governing equations for this investigation are solved analytically using two-term harmonic and non-harmonic functions. A comparison is made with the available results in the literature for a special case and our results are in very good agreement with the known results. A parametric study of the physical parameters is made and results are presented through graphs and tables. The results indicate that the fluid velocity and temperature could be controlled by varying the radiation absorption.