Introduction to Chapter 18

Chapter 18 of Revelation is a continuation from the 16^th chapter.  In Chapter 16 seven angels with seven bowls have 7 plagues poured out on the earth.  The plagues take place in the last quarter of the 7 year tribulation period.

During this period of the bowl judgments, God’s wrath is being completed on the earth.  People, who received the mark of the beast, are in continuous pain, water and food are scarce as a result of the plagues on the sea and fresh water. The heat of the Sun is scorching the earth causing death and burning in the earth.  The inhabitants of the Earth blaspheme God’s name as a result of his wrath.

Satan, Antichrist and the False prophet gather the armies of the east and the world toward Jerusalem to wage war on God. As the armies of the Earth near Jerusalem a tremendous earthquake, one unequaled in the history of the earth, destroys the cities of the world. The capital city of the Beast “Babylon” is in darkness and has been divided into three parts as a result of the great earthquake.    As the armies of the earth gather and the inhabitants from the cities emerge from their rubble hail falls from the sky weighing about 135 pounds each.   

The armies of the heaven are being readied for their entry into the Earth. The wedding supper of the Lamb is just finishing, and Bride is ready to depart with the Groom. But before they enter the Earth, remnants of Babylon the Great will be obliterated from the Earth.  In the 18^th chapter we see the final chapter on man’s monument to himself, destroyed before the triumphant armies of Heaven.  As the smoke from Babylon the Great goes into the air, word quickly spreads to the gathering armies of the Earth of the destruction of their capital city.

 

Revelation 18

 The fall of Babylon foretold

¹After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. ²And he cried ^mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! ³For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” Revelation 18:1-3

After these…John had just witnessed the destruction of the woman riding the Beast, by the 10 horns (10 kings) who hate the woman.  This was a parenthetical break from the chronological flow of events. After 7^th bowl is poured, the greatest earthquake in history, John is shown the destruction of, “Babylon the Great”, the capital city of the Earth.

Another angel… This angel is different from the one who took John into the wilderness to witness the destruction of the woman riding the Beast.  The angel in chapter 17 was one of angels who held the bowl judgments.  This angel is described in awe inspiring terms. 

      This angel seems as a final herald to the inhabitants of the earth of the coming judgment on Babylon.  This angel’s appearance will be seen in the physical world as he descends from Heaven.  He is described as having great (Gr. exousia …authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.) authority and glory. The earth lights with his presence.  With the kingdom of the Beast in darkness the light from this angel will bring immediate focus of all eyes to Heaven.

He cried….Literally screaming, in power with a loud voice (megas  phoône). The angel will be known not only by his glorious appearance but his loud message.

Babylon the great… This angel is announcing the final and complete destruction of Babylon.  Babylon plays a prominent role in scripture from the time of flood till the return of Christ. Some see the Babylon mentioned in Revelation as a veiled reference to the city of Rome. The more literal reading of Babylon as the actual physical city fits the literal understanding of scripture. And with the current situation in the World, a literal Babylon seems in the works.

                                                     Short History of Babylon

Babylon was created after Noah’s flood when mankind was one, mankind left the mountains of Ararat and moved west, then east to the plains of Shinar.  Shinar has been located to current day southern Iraq, where the city of Babylon is located.                                           

             Man at this point is under the leadership of Nimrod. Nimrod built major cities and started building a tower. The tower was to prevent mankind from being scattered by God.  The rebellion behind building the tower caused God scatter man according to their family tribal lineage. God confused languages where people could only communicate with their close family members with all others sounding like “Babel”. This caused man to migrate to different parts of the earth with like speaking family members.  Therefore the tribes of the Earth were established.  This tribal link with the languages of the world can be found in words like mother and father.

 

[1]One way that linguists prove that languages are related to one another is by using cognates. A cognate is a related word in another language. For example, the English word mother has cognates in several other Indo-European languages: Greek meter, Russian mate, German mutter, Sanskrit matri, and Irish mathair. These words all share a similar sound, and thousands of years ago they were likely all the same word in the same language.

 

       ¹Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. ²And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. ³Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. ⁴And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. ⁶And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. ⁷Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. ⁹Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:1-9

Nimrod was the first post-flood empire builder.  In addition to building the city of Babylon, he built other cities listed in Genesis 10. Many of these cities would latter become empires such as Assyria.  Assyria would then vie with Babylon, Egypt, Hittite, Elam, and Urartu, for control of the lands of the Middle East for the next 1500 years.

⁸Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. ⁹He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” ¹⁰And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. ¹¹From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, ¹²and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city). Genesis 10:8-11

 

Either Melchizedek or his forefathers came out this land of Old Babylon and settled in the land of Moriah before Abraham. Later about 2100 BC, God would call Abraham to the land of Moriah (Gen 12:1-7) and promise his descendents possession of the land. During this time we see Abraham interacting with both the Hittites and Egyptians. To the East, Assyria and Babylon struggled for control of the lands of the Tigris and Euphrates.

We see the influence of Babylon and God’s anger at the nation even while Joshua is entering the land about 1425 B.C.  Achan one of the Israelites takes a garment from Jericho, made in Babylon, against the orders given to Israel.  As a result Achan causes Israel to be defeated by the small city of Ai.

 

21 "When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it." Joshua 7:21

 

In 625 BC Nabopolassar father of Nebuchadnezzar rebelled against Assyrian domination of Babylon and re-established the Babylonian empire later to be known as “Neo-Babylon”.  In 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar became the King of Babylon.  The first 4 chapters of Daniel revolve around Nebuchadnezzar interaction with the descendents and God of Israel.

 Nebuchadnezzar would reconstruct Babylon to its former glory.  This Neo-Babylon is the Babylon referred to in Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

 “Neo-Babylon” would become a foreshadowing of the last Babylon that will be the capital city of the Earth. 

            After the defeat of Babylon by Cyrus the Persian 539 BC (Daniel 5), Babylon as a city continued to exist.  Alexander the Great died in the city of Babylon in 323 BC, while he was in the process of reconstructing the city to its former glory.   Babylon as a city is only a shadow of its former glory. But if we take the scripture literally Babylon will be rebuilt and become the greatest of all cities.

At least in the second half of the tribulation it will become the seat of power for Satan as he operates through the Antichrist.

 

 

 

                                              Babylon Today

Today several significant events are happening in the land formerly known as Babylon.  The world as of October 25, 2003 at the Madrid conference on rebuilding Iraq has pledged 33 Billion dollars toward the effort.  The Madrid conference logo featured the “Tower of Babel” behind the speaker’s podium.  In addition to the world rebuilding the land of Babylon the new currency features an old face from history.  Hammurabi, one of the most well known kings of Babylon (1795-1750 BC), known for the written code of law, the “Code of Hammurabi”.  If the name of Iraq is changed to Babylon Christians should not be surprised.

Is the city of Baghdad the coming, “New Babylon” or is a new city to be constructed? At this time we don’t know.  Zechariah 5 tells of building a house for “Wickedness” in the land of Shinar. But the house must be built first before “Wickedness” is placed there.

 ¹⁰So I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?”  ¹¹And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of ^Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”  Zechariah 5:10-1

                                                            Babylon as a foreshadowing

 The Babylon of the past is a foreshadowing of the Babylon to come. The books of Jeremiah, Joel, Isaiah and Ezekiel have direct references to “Neo-Babylon’s” judgment but their ultimate fulfillment will be seen in the last days with the last Babylon.

For example 3 Jewish boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in Daniel chapter 3 refuse to bow to the Image set up in the plain by Nebuchadnezzar; they are then thrown into a fiery furnace and rescued by one who is like unto, “son of the gods”. This is a foreshadowing of Israel’s future as the Antichrist sets up an image and demands Israel along with the rest of the world worship the Image.  The world accepts Israel refuses and is put into a fiery trial only to be rescued by the “Son of God”.

 

 

The Judgments on Babylon in Jeremiah 51 and Isaiah 13 & 14 are specifically linked to the last days but can also be seen as partially fulfilled during the time of “Neo-Babylon”.

25          “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,       Who destroys all the earth,” says the LORD.       “And I will stretch out My hand against you,       Roll you down from the rocks,       And make you a burnt mountain. 26    They shall not take from you a stone for a corner       Nor a stone for a foundation,       But you shall be desolate forever,” says the LORD. Jeremiah 51:25-26

19    And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,       The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,       Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20    It will never be inhabited,       Nor will it be settled from generation to generation;       Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there,       Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.        Isaiah 13:19-20

 

Parts of Babylon have been used in the construction of Baghdad and other surrounding cities. Jeremiah can better be seen fulfilling a rebuilt last days Babylon.  The coming destruction of Babylon will be utter devastation with no rebuilding in site.

 

The “Last Babylon” is better seen being fulfilled in Isaiah 14 for several reasons.  Israel’s end-time restoration is linked with the judgment of Babylon. In this scene Israel will rule over her oppressors and will taunt the King of Babylon, who descends into Hell.  The King of Babylon is addressed as Lucifer in the 12^th verse.  This is literally fulfilled at the return of Christ when the King of Babylon, Satan is chained and cast into the abyss for 1000 years. (Rev 20:1-3)

 

¹For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. ²Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the LORD; they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors.

³It shall come to pass in the day the LORD gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, ⁴that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say:

¹²     “How you are fallen from heaven, O ^Lucifer, son of the morning!How you are cut down to the ground,

        You who weakened the nations!  Isaiah 14:1-3,12

                                                           Last Days Babylon

The Babylon in Revelation 18 should be understood in the context of a final kingdom on the Earth united against God and his people Israel.  To this Babylonian kingdom is the judgment in Revelation 18 being addressed.

A dwelling place…..Since all of Satan’s angels are expelled from heaven along with Satan, they take up residence in man and rule with him in his satanic kingdom.  The last Babylon becomes the demonic headquarters of this satanic undertaking.

All the nations…. Satan is called the god of this age, who has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. (2 Cor. 4:4) Satan tempted Jesus with the nations of the earth if he would just worship him. (Luke 4:5-7)  Through the proxy of the Antichrist and his kingdom, all the nations of the earth will worship Satan in the flesh and will therefore face the wrath of this relationship.

The kings of the earth…The kings the personal representatives of the nations will be seduced by the demonic forces into union with the Beast.

The merchants…The third class in this indictment by the angel, speaks to the movers and shakers of the world who were seduced by the great wealth offered by the beast.

 ¹⁶For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life I John 2:16

 

 

 

Call for separation from Babylon

⁴And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. ⁵For her sins ^have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Revelation 18:4-5

Another voice…This is Christ’s voice since the people are called, “My people”. 

Come out of her… The call is additional demonstration of God’s mercy on his own people. God is warning his people, giving them an opportunity of escape before his complete destruction of Babylon. What were God’s people doing in Babylon? This voice could be at the start of the second half of the tribulation, warning the people of God to leave, or it may be for those in hiding, who as a result of the darkness that overtakes the kingdom of the Beast will have a chance for escape before the final wrath falls.  This call is repeated in Jeremiah and Isaiah 48:20, Zech 2:6.

⁴⁵ “My people, go out of the midst of her!

And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the LORD. Jeremiah 51:45

 

Her sins….Babylon will be compensated for her sins.  There comes a day when God’s mercy ends and his judgment begins. People often mistake God’s mercy for weakness.

⁹The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward ^us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

 

The Charge against Babylon

 ⁶Render to her just as she rendered ^to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. ⁷In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ ⁸Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who ^judges her. Revelation 18:6-8,

Render to her…The judgment against Babylon will be based on her actions.  She will be rewarded with judgment.

According to her works… Babylon’s lack of mercy and persecution of the saints will be God’s justification in his utter destruction of the city and the eternal judgment of its demonic and human inhabitants.

She glorified herself….Pride was the downfall of Satan and will be the downfall of his kingdom. This final city will be the realization of man’s self glory.

In the same measure…Torment and sorrow will be reciprocal to her self glorification and luxury. 

Her plagues … The complete judgment on Babylon will not be elongated but immediate and final.

She will be… The city will be incinerated when God judges her. 

 

Lament of the Kings of the Earth

⁹“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ Revelation 18:9-10

The kings of the earth….Before the return of Christ with the armies of heaven, how long is not sure, the city will be destroyed.  There will be enough time for the rulers of the earth to realize what has just happened.  In one sudden event the city will be destroyed.

Fear of her torment… Her judgment will be a visual display of the very soon coming judgment on the kings of the Earth.  Satellite or radio messages will show the kings of the Earth what just happened to their capital city.  The kings of the Earth along with Antichrist will be heading toward Jerusalem with the delusion of somehow battling the creator of the universe.

 

Lament of the Merchants of the Earth

 

¹¹“And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: ¹²merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. ¹⁴The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have ^gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. ¹⁵The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, ¹⁶and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! ¹⁷For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance ¹⁸and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’ ¹⁹“They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’ Revelation 18:11-19

The merchants of the earth….(Gr. emporos  one on a journey, whether by sea or by land, especially for trade)  The word for merchant is used 4 times in Revelation 18 and once in Matthew 13:45. The picture is more of a wholesaler or shipper.  The merchant shippers, the large corporations that profited from their relationship with Babylon will mourn.  The mourning comes not from sin but lack of profit and loss. The list of goods represents a range of trading in the global economy.   World commerce will be an important part of the end-times, gluing nations and systems together.  Governments are now negotiating deals for the mega-corporations, with kings of the earth and the merchants of the earth becoming partners.  This global economy will only escalate in the end-of-days.  This will leave little room for those in the world who will have to choose between their careers and the Lord.

Money	Clothing	Furniture	Building Materials	Fragrance	Staples	Livestock	Transport	Man
Gold	Fine linen	Citron wood	Wood	Cinnamon	Wine	Cattle	Chariots	Bodies
Silver	purple	Ivory	Bronze	Incense	Oil	Sheep	horses	Souls of Men
Precious stones	silk		Iron	Fragrant oil	Fine flour
Pearls	scarlet		marble	Frankincense	wheat

 

Bodies and souls of men…. In the time of John, slaves were a common commodity in Roman society.  In the end days trafficking in both the dead and living will is a viable enterprise.  Even in our own day industries are harvesting fetus material to be used in cosmetics and medical research.  Future human and animal cloning, genetic experimentation is creating new world of commercial enterprise.  One could only imagine the traffic in body parts of executed Christians. And with the lack of food as a result of the Seal, Trumpet and Bowl judgments cannibalism might not be far off.  Human slavery of Christians occurs today in Muslim Sudan without many complaints by nations of the world.

 

Rejoice in Heaven

²⁰“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!” Revelation 18:20

Rejoice…. Babylon was responsible for persecution of the believers throughout history but especially in the end of days. More people are killed for Christ then any time in the history of the world during the end-of-days.  The heavens, with the saints, along with the prophets and apostles dwelling there celebrate the destruction of Babylon, the demonic stronghold.

God has avenged… In Revelation6:9,7:9-17,13:9,15:2 we see the results of the work of Satan and his kingdom.  The death of millions and millions of saints in the last days will be paid in kind to Satan and his representatives as God unleashes his wrath on the earth.

 

The utter destruction of Babylon

²¹Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. ²²The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. ²³The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. ²⁴And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.” Revelation 18:21-24

 

A mighty angel… This angel is in contrast to the first angel in the 18^th chapter announcing the coming judgment on Babylon.

With violence…Babylon’s judgment will involve violent burning fire that will erase Babylon presence from the earth in one hour.

Not be found anymore…Here the Greek is very emphatic, there shall be no trace of Babylon’s existence after its final judgment.  This reading is more along the lines indicated above in the complete destruction of Babylon in Jeremiah and Isaiah.   In order to fulfill both Old and New Testament prophesies regarding Babylon the Ishtar gate would have to be non-existent.

 

The sound of…Music will be a big part of the Babylonian kingdom.  Music was also part of Satan nature and he uses this ability to deceive those on earth.  Today the merchants on the earth traffic in souls using music to deceive the minds of many.

 

The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes

      Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

Ezekiel 28:13b

 

 

 

For your merchants…The merchants of the Earth will headquarter their business in rebuilt Babylon.  The merchants are described as (Gr…megistanes ….the grandees, magnates, nobles, chief men). Great men of the earth these merchants will move the kings and citizens of the earth to accepting the Beast.  Another tool Satan and Babylon will use is sorcery (Gr…pharmakeia …the use or the administering of drugs) the source of the word for pharmacy. Drugs will be another weapon used to bring the nations into submission.

All who were slain….With Babylon becoming the home and cage of demons, the forces behind the murder of the saints and all slain since the beginning starting from Cain till the end of time.

So with the armies of the Earth gathering in Jerusalem, the cities of the collapsed, all except Jerusalem, word comes of the destruction of Babylon the Great.  The kings and merchants of the earth mourn as they are attempting to wage war on the Lamb in Israel.  Through Israel God will judge the nations. Jesus will return to redeem Israel from the armies of the world.   

 

The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things; And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance.

The LORD of hosts is His name. “You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces;

With you I will destroy kingdoms;  Jeremiah 51:19-20