Revelation 18

Babylon is Destroyed

18:1 After these things I saw another angel, who possessed great authority, coming down out of heaven, and the earth was lit up by his radiance.

The events in this chapter will follow after the Ecclesiastical Babylon religious system is destroyed in the middle of the Great Tribulation. At this time, all of those who took the mark of the beast will worship the Antichrist.

18:2 He shouted with a powerful voice: “Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detested beast.

The city of Babylon will be the literal capital of the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation. Satan started man's rebellion in this city with Nimrod at the Tower of Babel.  Zechariah 5 predicted that the economic power of the whole world would shift back to Babylon in the last days.

Babylon will be destroyed in three and a half years after the destruction of ecclesiastical Babylon. During the Millennial Kingdom, the whole earth will be reshaped into its original Garden of Eden conditions. However, there are two cities that will not return to its beautified Garden of Eden condition. According to Isaiah 34:7-16, Edom will be a burning, desolate wasteland during the entire 1,000 years. According to this verse, Babylon will also be a desolate, burning wasteland throughout the Kingdom period.

Babylon and Edom will never be inhabited again. They will be set on fire continually during the entire 1000 years of the Millennial Kingdom. Not only will they continually burn, but demons and unclean spirits will be imprisoned in both cities for the entire 1,000 years. At the end of the 1,000 years, these demons and unclean spirits will be transported into the Lake of Fire forever.

18:3 For all the nations have fallen from the wine of her immoral passion, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior.”

The ten regional kings of the Great Tribulation will be puppet rulers of the Antichrist. Three of these rulers will rebel against the Antichrist and be killed. The other seven kings will drink from the same wine goblet as the Babylon whore. The wine will be the blood of the saints, The religious system of the Antichrist will exist during the Great Tribulation to murder the saints. They will run their own Spanish Inquisition during the Great Tribulation.

The merchants will be the business men of the Babylon economic system. Both the king and the business leaders will profit from the Babylon economy. Both will rule politically and economically. The sensual behavior of the Babylon whore is spiritual fornication, meaning to worship the Antichrist.

18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues,

All of the Jews will be warned and called to leave Babylon. The reason is so that they will not be seduced into worshipping the Antichrist. Another reason is so that they will not be punished by the plagues that will come upon the city.

18:5 because her sins have piled up all the way to heaven and God has remembered her crimes.

Once her cup of iniquity fills, God will remember her crimes and destroy her.

18:6 Repay her the same way she repaid others; pay her back double corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her.

This is the principle of retribution. Babylon will be the spiritual, political, and economical capital of the Great Tribulation world, so she will be held at a higher degree of responsibility. Those who will be placed in leadership during this time will receive stronger discipline and punishment.

18:7 As much as she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’

The city of Babylon will be lording over the people and controlling them economically. She will feel no shame in her prostitution, as she sold herself out to the Antichrist. In fact, she boasted about it.

18:8 For this reason, she will experience her plagues in a single day: disease, mourning, and famine, and she will be burned down with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!”

Just as Sodom, Gomorrah, Assyria, and ancient Babylon were destroyed in one day, so will the future rebuilt Babylon be destroyed in one day.

 18:9 Then the kings of the earth who committed immoral acts with her and lived in sensual luxury with her will weep and wail for her when they see the smoke from the fire that burns her up.

The kings will sing a lamentation, or a funeral song, when the city of Babylon is destroyed. They will be making a lot of profit off of the city. The economics of the city will keep them in power and luxury. 

18:10 They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment, and will say, “Woe, woe, O great city,

Babylon the powerful city! For in a single hour your doom has come!”

The city of Babylon will be destroyed in one hour. Her destruction will shock the world and sadden those who have taken the mark of the Beast.

18:11 Then the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo any longer –

The merchants will sing a lamentation for Babylon, because they have lost their businesses and their luxurious life-style.

18:12 cargo such as gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all sorts of things made of citron wood, all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble,

All of these items are luxury items for the wealthy. The wealthy will love those luxury articles more than God. They will be weeping, because they will have lost their lives of luxury. 

18:13 cinnamon, spice, incense, perfumed ointment, frankincense, wine, olive oil and costly flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages, slaves and human lives.

Notice also that the trafficking of slaves will also make these kings and merchants very wealthy. Worldwide human slavery will be part of the Babylon economic system. God made men. Men made slaves. Satan promotes slavery, but attempts to blame the act of slavery upon God. God does support slavery, but only on the condition that if one loves his master so much, he wants to serve him forever. 

18:14 (The ripe fruit you greatly desired has gone from you, and all your luxury and splendor have gone from you – they will never ever be found again!)

Those who will take the mark of the Beast will never live in luxury again.

18:15 The merchants who sold these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep and mourn,

The merchants will no longer profit from these luxury items and trafficking of slaves. They will sing lamentations for the city of Babylon, because this city kept them in wealth.

18:16 saying, “Woe, woe, O great city – dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls –

The city of Babylon was dressed like a wealthy and beautiful prostitute who was living in royalty.

18:17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!” And every ship’s captain, and all who sail along the coast – seamen, and all who make their living from the sea, stood a long way off

All of those who will be involved in the transportation businesses will sing lamentations for the city of Babylon. No longer will they live in wealth from the profit gained from their cargo ships and slave ships.

18:18 and began to shout when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up, “Who is like the great city?”

The kings, merchants, and transportation industry will shoot mournful cries when they see the smoke of Babylon. Apparently, Babylon will be destroyed by fire from heaven, similar to that of Sodom and Gomorrah. The smoke will rise up from this city for all 1000 years of the Millennial Kingdom. Babylon will be a continual burning wasteland during this time period. Demons and unclean spirits will be imprisoned in this burning city for 1000 years.

18:19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning, “Woe, Woe, O great city –in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth – because in a single hour she has been destroyed!”

All of the cargo ships will be going out of business. The economy of the Antichrist will be destroyed instantly. The influence of the Babylon Mystery Religious System will be eliminated in an instance.

18:20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has pronounced judgment against her on your behalf!)

There will be three groups in heaven who will not be lamenting, but rejoicing. The saints, apostles, and prophets will all be in heaven together, rejoicing over this destruction.

18:21 Then one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said, “With this kind of sudden violent force Babylon the great city will be thrown down and it will never be found again!

Babylon will never be rebuilt again. It will be a desolate and burning wasteland for 1000 years.

18:22 And the sound of the harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again. No craftsman who practices any trade will ever be found in you again; the noise of a mill will never be heard in you again.

There will never be a joyous song in Babylon again.

18:23 Even the light from a lamp will never shine in you again! The voices of the bridegroom and his bride will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the tycoons of the world, because all the nations were deceived by your magic spells!

Babylon will use the occult to deceive the world.

18:24 The blood of the saints and prophets was found in her, along with the blood of all those who had been killed on the earth.”

The city of Babylon will be guilty of murdering the saints of God.