October 18, 2014 Revelation Chapter 18

Revelation Chapter 18

Originally posted Friday January 2, 2009

Revelation, Chapter 18 The Fall of Babylon

The limited mention and extent of the final plague poured out on Babylon/Rome in16:17ff gives way to a more complete description of her ruin. In John's vision he sees an angel descending from heaven to the earth. Such was the brightness of this angel that the entire earth was made bright. John uses several Old Testament references to the fall of other great cities: Nineveh, Tyre and Babylon were all labeled as harlots. The angel speaks in the form of a lament worthy of the great prophet Isaiah. The angel - "one having great authority," announces and describes the dark images of a fallen Empire and the economic consequences to those who have profited by their adulterous relationship with the Great Whore.

Babylon/Rome is now (and has been) a place of demons, foul birds and beasts (Isa, 13:19-22, 14:23, 34:12-15). The nations, kings and merchants have "grown rich" from the resources they have sold to maintain the obscene luxury of Babylon. Therefore they share in the tragic outcome because they have been collaborators in and drank from Babylon's "golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication."

John hears another voice - this one from heaven, calling to God's people - those not having the mark of the beast, to separate themselves from the sins of Babylon and avoid the plagues falling upon her (Isa.48:20; Jer. 50:8). The call to come out of Babylon is not only an exhortation to be distanced from the mountain of sins of Babylon in some symbolic sense (Gen. 18:20). It is also a call to resist the power and influences of the authorities and any others who demand participation in anything contaminated or promoted by ungodly worship of idols, living or not. The resistance and separation are to be literal, not unnoticeable tokens. Christians may be politically citizens of Rome but their true citizenship is with God's kingdom and the ways of the former have no place in the latter.

The voice from heaven now addresses God in the form of a Psalm-prayer on behalf of those who have been called out of Babylon. The voice pleads with God to repay the oppressor with a double portion of punishment for her deeds (Ps. 137:8; Jer. 50:15). Because she lived in luxury, let her feel torment and grief. She still thinks of herself as a queen surrounded by courtiers seeking her favor (Isa. 47:7; Ezek. 28:2). Let her feel the grief of being alone,.amidst the crush of "pestilence, mourning and famine." as she is burned in the fire of God's judgment. Those kings who sought her favor and lived in luxury will see the flames and lament their loss from afar.

The vision continues with the lament of the merchants who have lost their profitable business relations with Babylon, their extensive trade in all kinds of luxurious and precious goods. They had staked their entire success on the constant delivery of heavy cargos to feed her ravenous demand for the best of everything in precious jewels, food stuffs, animals and slaves. Now it is all laid waste and lost.

It was not only the merchants, the suppliers who became rich from the splendor they provided that lost everything. It was also the ship owners who carried the cargos across the many waters to Babylon who became rich but now they have lost everything (Ezek. 27:27). Their business and their gain are in the smoke rising above the burning city. All alike, the kings, merchants and ship masters and crews had cast their lot with Babylon and have fallen with her. They sit in the ashes of their lament, weeping, mourning and crying aloud.

The vision shifts from the lamenting on earth to rejoicing in heaven for God's judgment against Babylon on behalf of the persecuted and martyred church. In a symbolic act John sees a "mighty angel" throw a large stone larger than a donkey stone into the sea. Just as the stone disappears beneath the waves Babylon will be "thrown down and will be found no more." The sound of music, the artisans working at their crafts, the grinding of wheat, the joy of newly weds has disappeared into the darkness. The blood of the saints, the prophets and all others martyred by Babylon has been avenged.