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Revelation 18

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The Angel Proclaims Babylon's Fall 1–3

1
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. ​
2
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. ​
3
For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. ​

A Call to Separate from Babylon 4–8

4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. ​
5
For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6
Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. ​
7
How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. ​
8
Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. ​

The Kings and Merchants Lament 9–19

9
And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, ​
10
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. ​
11
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: ​
12
The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, ​
13
And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. ​
14
And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
15
The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16
And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17
For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, ​
18
And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
19
And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

Heaven Rejoices at God’s Justice 20–24

20
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. ​
21
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. ​
22
And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; ​
23
And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. ​
24
And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Revelation 18

Verse 1

the earth was lightened with his glory — Photizo, to give light. Ezekiel saw the same radiance with the LORD's coming: 'the earth shined with his glory' (Ezek 43:2). 'Another angel' with 'great power' (exousia, authority) 'come down from heaven', as the 'mighty angel' of 10:1 did. Babylon's fall has already been announced in 14:8.

Verse 2

Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen — The words of Isa 21:9, first heard in Rev 14:8. 'Habitation' is katoiketerion, a dwelling-place, found elsewhere only in Eph 2:22, 'an habitation of God through the Spirit'. The wild creatures echo Isa 13:19–22, where Babylon is 'as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah', and Jer 50:39.

Verse 3

committed fornication with her — Kings and merchants are named together, as in 17:2 and 18:9–11. 'Delicacies' (strenos, luxury) is a word found only here. Isa 23:17 says the same of Tyre, that she 'shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world', and Nahum 3:4 speaks of the 'mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms'.

Verse 4

Come out of her, my people — The call is made in Jer 51:45, 'My people, go ye out of the midst of her', and Isa 52:11. Paul quotes the latter, 'come out from among them, and be ye separate' (2 Cor 6:17). 'Partakers' is sunkoinoneo, to share in; it occurs also in Eph 5:11 and Phil 4:14. The warning is also against 'her plagues'.

Verse 6

double unto her double — 'Double' (diploo) is found only here. Jer 16:18 says 'I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double', and Isa 40:2 says Jerusalem 'received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins'. 'Hath filled' is kerannumi, 'mixed', the verb of the cup in 14:10. Ps 137:8 asks that she be rewarded 'as thou hast served us'.

Verse 7

I sit a queen, and am no widow — Her boast takes up Babylon's in Isa 47:7–8, 'I shall be a lady for ever' and 'I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children'. 'Lived deliciously' is streniao, found only here and in v.9. The answer in v.8 is Isa 47:9, 'in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood'.

Verse 8

in one day — The plagues named are 'death, and mourning, and famine', and she is 'utterly burned with fire'. In 17:16 the ten horns burn her; here the verse names 'the Lord God who judgeth her' and calls him strong. Jer 50:34 says likewise, 'Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name'.

Verse 9

the smoke of her burning — The kings who 'lived deliciously with her' (streniao, as in v.7) 'bewail' and 'lament', two verbs of grief. The smoke is seen again in v.18, and in 19:3 'her smoke rose up for ever and ever'. Ezek 26:16 describes the princes of the sea who 'come down from their thrones' when Tyre falls.

Verse 10

in one hour is thy judgment come — 'One hour' is repeated in vv.17 and 19, as 'one day' is in v.8. 'Standing afar off' (makrothen) is said of the kings, then of the merchants in v.15 and the shipmasters in v.17. 'Alas' is ouai, the word rendered 'Woe' in 8:13 and 12:12.

Verse 11

the merchants of the earth shall weep — The merchants grieve over lost trade, 'for no man buyeth their merchandise any more'. Their lament resembles the one over Tyre in Ezek 27, where 'the merchants among the people shall hiss at thee' (Ezek 27:36), and the lists in vv.12–13 resemble the cargoes of that chapter.

Verse 12

all thyine wood — Thuinos, a kind of wood named only here. The list resembles the wares of Tyre in Ezek 27: 'silver, iron, tin, and lead' (v.12), 'horns of ivory and ebony' (v.15), 'purple, and broidered work, and fine linen' (v.16), 'precious stones, and gold' (v.22). 'Purple and scarlet' are also the woman's clothing in 17:4.

Verse 13

slaves, and souls of men — 'Slaves' is literally 'bodies' (somata), and the 'souls of men' follow it as the last item. Ezek 27:13 has the same trade, 'they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market'. The list runs from spices to cattle to chariots, and ends with persons.

Verse 17

every shipmaster, and all the company in ships — The third group of mourners. 'Shipmaster' is kubernetes, the steersman, as in Acts 27:11. Ezek 27:29 has 'the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea' coming down from their ships to stand on the land. All stand 'afar off', and the cry is again 'in one hour' (vv.10, 19).

Verse 20

God hath avenged you on her — Literally, God 'hath judged your judgment on her': the verb is krino with the noun krima. The saints under the altar had asked how long before he would 'judge and avenge our blood' (6:10), and Christ had asked, 'shall not God avenge his own elect?' (Luke 18:7). 'Rejoice' is the verb of 12:12.

Verse 21

a stone like a great millstone — In Jer 51:63–64 a stone bound to a book is cast into the Euphrates with the words, 'Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise'. 'Violence' (hormema) is a word found only here. 'Found no more' uses the verb of 16:20, where the mountains 'were not found'.

Verse 22

the sound of a millstone — The silences are those Jeremiah spoke over Judah and the nations: 'the voice of mirth… the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle' (Jer 25:10). Ezek 26:13 says of Tyre, 'the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard'.

Verse 23

the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride — Taken from Jer 7:34 and 25:10, the silence is set against 19:7, 'the marriage of the Lamb is come', and the bride of 21:9. 'Sorceries' (pharmakeia) is the word of 9:21, and it is the charge that 'all nations' were 'deceived', a verb (planao) used of the dragon in 12:9.

Verse 24

the blood of prophets, and of saints — The same two groups are in 16:6, and 17:6 has the woman 'drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus'. 'All that were slain upon the earth' takes up Jer 51:49, 'so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth'. 19:2 gives the verdict.