Revelation 18-19:1-5 (Come Out of Her!)

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 18

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.”

Rejoicing in Heaven

19 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

2  for his judgments are true and just;

for he has judged the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her immorality,

and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

3 Once more they cried out,

“Hallelujah!

The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying,

“Praise our God,

all you his servants,

you who fear him,

small and great.”

This week we reach the conclusion of God’s judgment sequence against the great prostitute, that great city, Jerusalem. After this will come the great marriage supper of the Lamb in chapter 19, and at last the bride will be revealed out heaven in chapter 21. As Jerusalem, here is chapter 18, is judged and put away for her apostasy, the Lamb will take for himself a new bride out of heaven, who is the church. John’s Apocalypse is intended to chronicle in apocalyptic terms the transition from the old covenant to the new covenant.

Therefore, chapter 18, in short, is a dirge or a lament; a lament connected with the overthrow of Jerusalem, and her apostasy. On one hand, her apostasy is mourned, the covenant established at Mount Sinai had ultimately resulted in the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28 poured out upon Israel. The old covenant was coming to an end. While on the other hand, Jerusalem’s apostasy was a great evil, especially in light of Israel’s covenant with God. Jerusalem had been the greatest persecutor of God’s prophets, and had repeatedly commited adultery with the nations around her, whether engaging in the worship of foreign gods or forsaking their God for alliances with other nations, such as the Roman Empire; all of which culminating in the execution of Jesus, their Messiah. Jerusalem had become a great prostitute seated on a beast, who was Rome, drunk with the blood of the saints, and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

Thus far, we’ve seen countless allusions to the OT prophetic literature, especially from the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 by the Romans paralleled the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC by the Babylonians, therefore much of the imagery employed by the prophets at that time is employed again here by John in his Apocalypse to describe Jerusalem’s fall in AD 70.

Therefore, John’s lament over the fall of Jerusalem is again a combination of imagery and language derived from the OT prophets. John uses the same imagery and language used by the prophets in their laments against Babylon, Sodom, Tyre, and Jerusalem hundreds of years earlier and applies it again to Jerusalem in AD 70. Chapter 18 also includes many of the elements we’ve seen before, all of which are combined here as the judgment against the prostitute comes to a climactic end.

Fallen, fallen is Babylon

For instance, we read there at the beginning,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

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!

This refrain, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” was introduced at first in chapter 14, and was significant because John was repeating a refrain from the prophet Isaiah when God spoke an oracle against the pagan nation of Babylon, and also wrote, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon”. And as I’ve argued repeatedly before Jerusalem had become like Babylon, and it was meant to be sadly ironic that the same judgment that Babylon faced was now facing Jerusalem.

Desolate and a haunt

Then John goes on there in verse 2, writing,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

“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.

The main idea here, is that as a result of Jerusalem’s destruction she will become desolate, and therefore a haunt for demons, and every unclean animal. That the desolate city would become inhabited by unclean spirits and unclean animals as a result of her apostasy and destruction. Which is the same kind of language utilized by the OT prophets whenever they described the results of judgment against a particular nation.

For instance, when Isaiah prophesied against Babylon hundreds of years earlier he wrote in Isaiah 13:19-22,

English Standard Version Chapter 13

19  And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,

the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,

will be like Sodom and Gomorrah

when God overthrew them.

20  It will never be inhabited

or lived in for all generations;

no Arab will pitch his tent there;

no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.

21  But wild animals will lie down there,

and their houses will be full of howling creatures;

there ostriches will dwell,

and there wild goats will dance.

22  Hyenas will cry in its towers,

and jackals in the pleasant palaces;

its time is close at hand

and its days will not be prolonged.

In other words, the vacuum produced by Babylon’s destruction resulted in wild beasts and unclean animals inhabiting the land. Therefore, John is telling us in his Apocalypse that Jerusalem likewise will go the way of Babylon, and the likes of Sodom and Gomorrah. That she will be made desolate. Which is what Jesus was referring to when he told the Pharisees at the end of Matthew 23, “your house is left to you desolate,” or when his disciples pointed out to him in chapter 24 the buildings of the temple, and he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

And more than that, John tells us there that Jerusalem would become a dwelling place for demons, or a haunt for every unclean spirit. You see the wilderness, or desert, was associated with death, sin, and the demonic. This is why the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement was sent out into the wilderness, symbolically carrying with it the sins of the people each year. This, in part, is the significance of the unclean creatures from the wilderness moving in, and it’s the significance behind the unclean spirits making Jerusalem a haunt. It also helps explain Jesus’ statement in Matthew 12:43 that we’ve looked at before, when he told his disciples that “when [an] unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest.”

Again, the main idea here, is that as a result of Jerusalem’s destruction she will become desolate, and therefore a haunt for demons, and every unclean animal. And later, when we reach chapter 21, John purposefully describes the new Jerusalem, as a place where “nothing unclean will ever enter it.” So, while the earthly Jerusalem will be marked by desolation and inhabited by unclean spirits and unclean animals, John says that “nothing unclean will ever enter” the new Jerusalem. Again, never forget, the harlot here in chapters 14-19 is meant to be contrasted with the bride revealed out of heaven in chapters 21-22.

Nations have drunk the wine of her immorality

Then John goes on there in verse 3,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

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.”

This statement is chapter 17 in a nutshell, where the great prostitute, decked out in precious jewels and fine clothing, is pictured as seated on a scarlet beast, holding in her hand a cup full of abominations. As we saw previously this imagery was meant to portray Jerusalem’s relationship to the Rome. That she was supported by the beast, or as the chief priests put it when they sought to have Jesus executed, “We have no king but Caesar.” Jerusalem had prostituted herself to the Roman Empire, she had become a harlot, and so she was depicted as one in chapter 17, “arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.”

Merchants have grown rich

But John adds here in chapter 18 that “the merchants of the earth [had] grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.” Now, it’s at this point, that many question the identity of Babylon with Jerusalem, “Was Jerusalem really that great of a merchant city?” Which, I think, is a reasonable question, and also the reason why many have tried to identify Babylon with other cities or worldly powers, but we have to keep several points in mind, 1) remember the evidence that we’ve seen thus far which clearly associates the harlot Babylon with Jerusalem, 2) don’t forget that the Bible is always written from the vantage point of redemptive history, not merely world history. Throughout the Bible Jerusalem is the city that is always front and center because to her redemptive significance and purposes in history, not Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, or Rome, 3) that this description is probably not limited, in scope, to Jerusalem of the first century, but is likely descriptive of her throughout her history, cumulatively, or as Jesus put it from the righteous blood of Abel until now, and lastly, 4) the emphasis may be directed specifically at the commercial activities of the Temple.

Therefore, I don’t think we’re not meant to take John’s description here and merely attach it to the wealthiest city we can find in the first century, or at any other time in history. John’s point is that Jerusalem’s prostitution with the nations around her, throughout the Roman Empire, and throughout history, has been a means for the city to enrich itself. Or to say it another way, it was good for business when Jerusalem prostituted herself with the nations around her.

You may recall, back in chapter 17, when John described Jerusalem as seated on many waters, and then went on to say that “the waters … where the prostitute [was] seated, [were] peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.” The imagery was meant to depict Jerusalem’s influence over the nations. While Jerusalem was supported, and subjugated to Rome, the city still had tremendous influence.

The Book of Acts records that there were Jews dwelling in every nation under heaven, that they had synagogues in nearly every city of the Roman Empire. These Jews sent their tithes to Jerusalem and they travelled regularly, at least once a year, if not more, to Jerusalem for worship, to celebrate holidays like Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Booths. You can imagine how much commerce and wealth this would have brought to the city. Because Jerusalem was at the center of Jewish worship it was inevitably a center of commerce in the ancient world. Those traveling to the city would need lodging and food for their stay, not to mention the buying and selling of sacrifices at the temple for worship. You can imagine the market places at those times of the year, an opportunity for merchants all of the world to cash in on the business opportunity.

Furthermore, the religious leaders had made themselves rich off this system of worship. For instance, historians believe that the high priest’s family had a hand in most of the commercial activity conducted at the Temple. Josephus described the high priest Ananias as “the great procurer of money.” This is probably why Jesus was so irate when he observed all of the buying and selling within the Temple courts. Jerusalem had become a den of robbers, rather than a house of prayer, and many of the religious leaders had exploited the Temple activities for their own gain. Worship at the Temple had become an opportunity for many of the religious leaders to fleece the sheep, which is why Jesus described the Pharisees as “full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matt. 23:25)

Rulers and merchants mourn over her

This is why John writes that the rulers of the earth and the merchants, who had committed sexual immorality with her, mourn her destruction. We read beginning there in verse 9,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

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.

What’s particularly significant about this lament, is that John is utilizing the same language that the prophet Ezekiel used in his lament and prophecy against Tyre and Sidon in Ezekiel 27-28, who were two neighboring pagan cities. John’s point is therefore that Jerusalem will suffer a similar judgment. And if you’re at all familiar at all with the Gospels you may also recall Jesus’ reference to Tyre and Sidon in Matt 11:21-22,

Matthew 11:21–22 ESV

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

One of the most compelling arguments that the Book of Revelation is describing the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 is that it corresponds with Jesus’ repeated warnings of judgement that would befall Israel for her unbelief, for her apostasy. This expectation of judgment is expressed constantly throughout Jesus’ ministry, therefore it’s fitting that the church would be given a book depicting the significance of those events.

Her sins are heaped as high as heaven

Now, let’s go ahead and pickup where we left off back in verse 4, we read,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

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.

This idea of sins reaching heaven is prevalent throughout the Scriptures. We’re told in Genesis 18 that Sodom and Gomorrah’s sin was very grave and that their sin had reach God in heaven. Jeremiah, when describing Babylon’s future judgment wrote, “… for her judgement has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies.” (Jer. 51:9)

And so in similar fashion Jerusalem’s sins are described here as being heaped as high as heaven. Which echoes the statement Jesus made to the Pharisees back in Matthew chapter 23 when he told them, “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers… so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah… whom you murdered.... truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” (Matt. 23:32-36)

Or as the Apostle Paul put it later in his letter to the church in Thessalonica,

English Standard Version Chapter 2

For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!

Therefore, the church is instructed here in chapter 18, to “come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you take part in her plagues.”

Flee the city, flee to the mountains

One of the repeated themes throughout the Book of Revelation is God’s protection of the church. Back in chapter 7, before the four horsemen were permitted to carry out judgment against Jerusalem, four angels stood at the four corners of the earth, holding back the the four winds of the earth. While another angel said with a loud voice, “Do not harm the earth or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” It was at that point 12,000 from each tribe in Israel were sealed, a remnant of Israel signified by a number totalling 144,000, protected from the judgments about to befall Jerusalem. While Jerusalem would be destroyed, the true Israel of God would be preserved, who are church.

This is why Jesus told his disciples back in Luke 21:20-22,

Luke 21:20–22 ESV

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.

In other words, the church was not intended to share in Jerusalem’s plagues, so Jesus had previously instructed his disciples to get out of the city when they saw it surrounded by armies, and for those in Judea to flee to the mountains.

Lest you take part in her sins

However, the church is also warned against taking part in Jerusalem’s sins. The church must escape, not only the plagues, but from taking part in Jerusalem’s sins. And what were Jerusalem’s sins? Well, her sins were, fundamentally, apostasy, or unbelief, and spiritual infidelity with Rome. Therefore, we must also guard against having hard and unbelieving hearts, and we must guard against compromise with the world.

When the angel said with a mighty voice, “Come out of her, my people,” we should remember that God has called his people out like before, like Noah, who “being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.” (Heb. 11:7), or Lot who “was greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked” in Sodom and Gomorrah was rescued by angels and escaped the judgment against those cities, or when God called his people out of Egypt and protected them by great signs and wonders, or when God called his people out of exile in Babylon to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Now, this time, the church is called out of unbelieving Israel, to go out of the city and seek the city that is to come, whose builder and maker is God.

Called out of the world

This idea of being called out is still relevant to us today. While the events of AD 70 are over, God still calls us out of the world, and to be separated from the world. Take a minute and turn with me to 2 Corinthians 6:14-18,

2 Corinthians 6:14–18 ESV

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

Not that we don’t interact with unbelievers at work or within our own families, but we recognize that we don’t have a fundamental fellowship with the world. Our allegiance is to Christ and his body, and not with the world. As James puts it in James 4:4, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” Therefore, our lives should reflect this reality. Our deepest relationships, for instance, should be forged with fellow believers, not unbelievers.

I don’t know how many professing believers I’ve watched walk away from the faith because their closest relationships were with unbelievers. As Paul says, “Bad company corrupts good morals.” The world will inevitably have a corrupting influence on the Christian life if it’s allowed to. And I can’t help but be reminded of Jesus’ parable of the soils, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." (Mt 13:22) And those of us who profess Christ are meant to heed this warning, don’t let the cares of the world choke the word.

A great millstone thrown into the sea

John then wraps up chapter 18 beginning there in verse 21,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

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;

Again, this is common imagery throughout Scripture, that of tying something to a stone and throwing it into the water. In Moses’ song after Israel’s exodus from Egypt, and the crossing at the Red Sea the people rejoiced, singing, “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.”

Then Jeremiah recorded in a book the judgments that would come against Babylon and sent it the people there, and after having it read he instructed them to tie the book to a stone and cast it into the Euphrates, saying, “Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her...” (Jer. 51:60-64)

And I’m sure most of us can’t help but remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:5-6,

Matthew 18:5–6 ESV

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

And so John employs this same imagery in his Apocalypse to describe finality of Jerusalem's destruction, that this city will be thrown down and found no more. Now, John’s point isn’t that the city will never be rebuilt, or never be inhabited again, but that Jerusalem’s purpose in redemptive history has come to an end. Even today, 2,000 years later, there is no Temple standing in Jerusalem, which ought to be a glaring reminder that the old covenant ended at the coming of Christ. The church is not meant to look forward to a return to the types and shadows of the old covenant, but to look only to Christ.

Rejoicing in heaven

Then in chapter 19, beginning in verse 1, we’re told a great multitude in heaven rejoices,

English Standard Version Chapter 19

19 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

2  for his judgments are true and just;

for he has judged the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her immorality,

and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

3 Once more they cried out,

“Hallelujah!

The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying,

“Praise our God,

all you his servants,

you who fear him,

small and great.”

Conclusion

This is significant, because this rejoicing in heaven brings the Book of Revelation full circle. In chapter 4 John was brought up to heaven to see the heavenly court, the four living creatures, the 24 elders, and God who is seated on the thrown. In chapter 5 a scroll containing judgments written within and without was given to the only one able to open it, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain. And as the scroll was opened and its seals removed, four horsemen appeared carrying with them judgments against apostate Israel, then John saw the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God under the altar in heaven crying out, “How long O Lord until you avenge our blood on those who dwell in the land?” These martyrs were told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants was complete. Then, after the church was sealed the judgments were finally carried out in increasing intensity, described as 7 trumpets and 7 bowls of wrath thereafter. Like the plagues against Egypt in Exodus the covenant curses were brought down on the heads of the covenant breakers. So, when we finally reach chapter 18 Babylon has fallen, God has heard the cry of the martyrs, and he has avenged their blood on those who dwell in the land. Therefore, at the beginning of chapter 19 all of the characters from chapters 4-6 are seen rejoicing in heaven.

English Standard Version Chapter 19

“Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

2  for his judgments are true and just;

for he has judged the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her immorality,

and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”