The Fall of Babylon

vv. 1-3) Separation

1 After these thing I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.

2 And 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!

3 For 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.”

[1] This angel coming down from heaven is so “fresh” from God’s presence that he glows. “So recently has he come from th Presence that in passing he flings a broad belt of light across the dark earth.”

Some have thought that this angel is Jesus because they are illuminated with his glory. The term “another” (allon) makes it clear that this angel is the same in kind as the angel of chapter 17 verse 1.

He announces that Babylon is fallen, fallen and the phrase is repeated giving emphases to what is being spoke of here. One commentator said it like this, “It is repeated like a solemn dirge of the damned.”

Become a dwelling place of demons: What a sad fate for once-great city.

“This is a prophetic picture of absolute desolation where the proud achievements of man become the demonic haunts of unclean and horrible creatures.”–Mounce

Babylon’s sin was not only idolatry (fornication), but also pride, greed, and selfishly held wealth.

Numbers 6:24–26 NKJV

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’

Add to the front after tonight:

Intro to CH.18: is this the same Babylon as is described in chapter 17?

Good Bible students and scholars see the difference described in chapter 17 and 18 concerning Babylon differently. Some point to two manifestations of Babylon, one religious and one commercial or material. While others see the two as one, regardless the point is that both are judged at the same time.

Some similarities between Babylon in CH. 17 and 18:

Both are under the rule of the Antichrist

Ruling queens

Filled with blasphemy

Hate the saints and shed their blood

Associates with kings in fornication

both under judgement and are destroyed.

Difference though:

Chapter 17 Chapter 18

Symbol: Harlot woman|| Symbol Great city

Identified with Rome (inland)|| Identified with a port city (coastal)

Woman, whore, mother|| Habitation, great city, marketplace

Guilty of religious abominations|| Guilty of greed and self-indulgence

Destroyed by political power that previous supported her|| Destroyed by sudden act of God

My personal understanding of this, is that they are intertwined, and yet somewhat distinct. Religious Babylon is judged at the mid-point of the seven year period of tribulation. Commercial Babylon is judged at the end of the seven years.

This scale of prophecy shouldn’t surprise us. Think of what the OT says about the first coming of the Messiah:

Micah said that Messiah would come out of Bethlehem Micah 5:2

Micah 5:2 NKJV

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

Hosea said that Messiah would come out of Egypt Hosea 1:1

Hosea 1:1 NKJV

1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

Malachi said that Messiah would come to the temple Malachi 3:1

Malachi 3:1 NKJV

1 “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.

Zechariah said that Messiah would come to Zion Zech 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 NKJV

9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

Isaiah said that Messiah would come to Galilee Isaiah 9:1-2

Isaiah 9:1–2 NKJV

1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

Which of these prophecies are true? They all are right? So it isn’t strange in the slightest to say, “Babylon is falling” and to mean it in two senses (religious and commercial Babylon) at two different times. At the mid-point and also at the end.

This passage is very much in the style of OT prophecies of doom regarding wicked cities. Two examples of this are Babylon (Isaiah 13-14, Isaiah 21, and Jeremiah 50-51) and Tyre (Ezekiel 26-28).

Is Babylon of Revelation 18 a literal or symbolic city?

Some have thought it to be a future rebuilt Babylon on the Euphrates River in the Middle East. This is now a desolate desert in modern day Iraq.

Saddam Hussein was outspoken in his desire to resurrect the ruined city of Babylon in all of its glory. He failed, but it is conceivable that a rebuilt Babylon could be a world economic center, especially with all the wealth of the Middle East.

I will be honest with you and tell you that I have yet to come to a good conclusion, but i’m leaning that it is both physical and symbolic.

John 15:18–19 NKJV

18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

In other word, Babylon in all its parts stand for that which Christ called “the world.”

That there is a destruction of a symbolic city and an actual city.