Revelation 18:1-24--The Fall of Babylon

Revelation 18
English Standard Version

The Fall of Babylon
18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
    She has become a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
    a haunt for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3 For all nations have drunk
    the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
    and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

“Come out of her, my people,
    lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
    and God has remembered her iniquities.
6 Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,
    and repay her double for her deeds;
    mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.
7 As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
    so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
    ‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
    and mourning I shall never see.’
8 For this reason her plagues will come in a single day,
    death and mourning and famine,
and she will be burned up with fire;
    for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”

9 And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas! Alas! You great city,
    you mighty city, Babylon!
For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.

14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
    has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
    are lost to you,
    never to be found again!”

15 The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

16 “Alas, alas, for the great city
    that was clothed in fine linen,
        in purple and scarlet,
    adorned with gold,
        with jewels, and with pearls!
17 For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”

And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,

“What city was like the great city?”

19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

“Alas, alas, for the great city
    where all who had ships at sea
    grew rich by her wealth!
For in a single hour she has been laid waste.
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven,
    and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has given judgment for you against her!”

21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,
    and will be found no more;
22 and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,
    will be heard in you no more,
and a craftsman of any craft
    will be found in you no more,
and the sound of the mill
    will be heard in you no more,
23 and the light of a lamp
    will shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
    will be heard in you no more,
for your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
    and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
    and of all who have been slain on earth.”

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After the Seventh Bowl judgment and after John received the visions we talked about last time, another angel of heaven appeared to give light to the entire earth and to declare victory over Babylon the Great and to call out God's people to a place of safety before the time of final judgment comes upon the people of the world.  It would appear from things said later in the text that this proclamation comes before the Bowl judgments (as it speaks in the future tense about how all the plagues that will befall Babylon the Great will come upon her in a single day).  Even before these final plagues, she has already become the dwelling place of demons and a haunt for every kind of unclean spirit, a haunt for every kind of unclean bird, and a haunt for every kind of unclean beast and creature that creeps along the ground. 

She has been the source of many various kinds of evil that has defiled all kinds of people from around the world of various backgrounds.  Some wanted sexual pleasure, others wanted to chase after other gods, still others wanted to make themselves rich with what the world had to offer.  All of these people exchanged the eternally incorruptible and good things God has in store for His people for the perishable and temporary things of this world.

Any of God's people who are left on the earth at this point are called out from living among the people of the world so that they will not be caught up in its final judgment.  This could be the Rapture of the Church so that the believers are snatched away and protected in heaven, or it could be a physical place of protection that has been prepared for them here on earth as we know God has done that in the past (Goshen in Egypt, Zoar with Sodom and Gomorrah, Rahab's house in Jericho, and the Ark in the Flood, just to name a few).

Those who are far off who survive the plagues of the Seven Bowls will see her destruction and weep for that great city and its many people because they loved the world and the things of the world and they probably know this means judgment is coming upon them and their house as well.  If Babylon the Great could fall so quickly and easily to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, then who can withstand His fury and wrath when He returns to make war with all of His enemies? (That's not going to keep them from trying though).

The merchants will no longer have customers to buy their wares because of the number of people destroyed in a single day.  Though they put their whole lives into becoming rich, it will all be taken away from them in a single day because what good is it to have all the wealth in the world and have nothing left to buy with it and worse, what will it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul?

The captains of the seafaring vessels will also cry out because there will be no more need for their services and because such a great city (in their minds) was destroyed in what seems like a single hour.  They tell the citizens of heaven to rejoice at the destruction of the one who persecuted the saints and the prophets, and God's judgment on the wicked is certain and absolute.

Then, the mighty angel that John has seen in this vision hurls a rock the size of giant millstone into the sea as if it were nothing.  The angels says this is the way that Babylon the Great will be thrown down and destroyed (though they think they are big and powerful and immoveable, they are nothing to God--just look at what one of His angels did to that huge millstone).  No more will they make music nor will their craftsmen build and manufacture goods to sell.  No more will people grind the mill to make food nor will they have any need of any lamp (we'll see why that is later, but for now it is just a sign that everyone of the world and the kingdom of Antichrist is going to perish and there will be no more need of any of these things).  No more will people marry or be given in marriage.  No more will we need international shipping and commerce.  No more will people be deceived by the sorceries of Babylon the Great, and no longer will her deeds of killing the saints and the prophets go unpunished.  No more will she be able to threated the people and kingdom of God every again!