This is a long chapter and we need to try to look at it in its completeness so we will get right into it. PRAYER This chapter deals with the destruction of religious Babylon—the hub-city for the antichrist in the end time. In the end time, this city will be like any great capital city. It will be a great political center. It will be strong commercially, socially, and culturally.
Commentators have two views on this city called Babylon. Some believe it will be an actual city on earth. The city is said to be either Rome or else the city of Babylon that will be rebuilt close to where it existed in ancient history. Babylon sat somewhere on the Euphrates River at the head of the Persian Gulf.
Many commentators believe that the whole eastern area will become enormously wealthy with its rich oil reserves. They believe that the nations throughout the whole region will become nations of great commercial influence and power. The area has by far the largest population concentration in the world, a population that demands goods and a booming economy.
Other commentators believe that Babylon represents all the political, commercial, social, and cultural systems of the world. They believe that it symbolizes the godless and secular societies of this world. And really, Babylon could represent any great city of the world like Washington, New York, Tokyo, London, Moscow, or Paris.
These commentators believe that this chapter is picturing the great destruction of all the godless societies of the end time. They believe that Babylon is just a symbol of the destruction of the godless government and society all across the world.
Both of these positions make sense, and either could be true. Whatever the case, this chapter emphatically declares that Babylon is going to be destroyed. Note that God Himself will destroy Babylon. It is God who will pour out the cup of His wrath upon Babylon.
READ 1. After this, that is, after the bowl judgments have been poured out and religious Babylon (false religious) has been destroyed, we see the great angelic announcement from heaven. This angel is coming from God Himself, and he is coming with great authority and power. He is so glorious that the light of his glory blazes across the whole earth. This symbolizes that his message is meant for the whole earth.
READ 2-5. In these verses, we see the reasons why Babylon will be destroyed. Five reasons are given.
1. Babylon will be destroyed because of spiritual corruption. Because Babylon won’t look to God, it will become the place for devils and their worship. We are given a graphic picture of it all.
It will become the cage for every unclean and detestable bird. The morals and sins of Babylon will run so loose that the city will become a center for every evil and unclean spirit of the underworld. Every detestable sin you can think of will run wild in that day.
Immorality, sexual immorality, adultery, homosexuality, lying, stealing, cheating, magical arts, sorcery, devil worship, witchcraft, palm readers, fortune tellers, astrology, all will be included in the list. What a corrupt society.
2. The second reason Babylon will be destroyed is because the city corrupted nations, kings, and merchants. The word “adultery” in verse 3 means spiritually adultery—the rejection of God and turning to other gods. In the end time, man will worship himself and his secular society. His life will focus around technology instead of God, science instead of God, education, pleasures, recreation, comforts, instead of God.
Babylon will take the lead on all of these. It will have economic wealth and merchants of the world will grow rich because of its wealth. The point to it all is that Babylon will use its influence for evil. The city will manipulate the nations and leaders of the world to follow its own evil purposes.
The city will lead the nations to exterminate the Jews, Christian believers, and the faithful of all other religions who refuse to give their first loyalty to the state.
Even today, if all the nations of the Middle East could be united under one rule, the confederation of power could make enormous demands and manipulate the money of the nations of the world. How? Through its oil.
3. The third reason Babylon will be destroyed is because the city will corrupt people through secularism. One of the easiest things in the world is to become influenced by secularism. A secular society offers comfort, health, education. Possessions, pleasures, time, recreation, and art. It offers all that a person could ever want physically and mentally.
But it denies and rejects God. So secularism causes people to focus on the world and nothing else. Even though this life of luxury sounds tempting, when it happens, people go into eternity lost and doomed. Scripture tells us that God and eternity lie beyond this world, either an eternity of hell apart from God, or an eternity of life and reward with God.
So Babylon will stand guilty of misleading people into sin.
4. READ v. 6. The fourth reason Babylon will be destroyed is because the city will take the lead in persecuting God’s people. “What she has done.” This speaks of the worst holocaust the world has ever known, the killing of millions of believers. And note that the payback is double.
5. READ v. 7. The fifth reason Babylon will be destroyed is because of self-glory, pride, selfish extravagance, and indulgence. Every good and perfect gift comes from God. So the leaders and citizens of Babylon should praise and thank God for the wealth and comforts of their land. They should use their wealth to help meet the needs of the world.
God will not tolerate selfishness, hoarding, indulgence, extravagance, and then glorying in oneself because one has been able to hoard and bank more than someone else. That’s the reason Babylon will be destroyed. The city will lead the world to glory in itself for all its accomplishments.
READ 8. We see the quickness of Babylon’s destruction. It will happen in one day. Actually verse 10 says the city will be destroyed in one hour. In one hour’s time, the plagues of death, mourning, and famine will sweep through the streets of the city. And then the city will be utterly destroyed by fire. “By the strength of the Lord God who judges us.”
The words death, mourning, and famine may be referring to an immediate plague of some sort hitting the city all at once, some plague that would have the same effects as poisonous gas.
The one hour destruction by fire may be referring to an immediate destruction like what fell on Sodom and Gomorrah or to something that is as forceful and explosive as an atomic bomb.
READ 9 – 10. Now we see the impact of Babylon’s fall. The great influence that this city had on the world can be seen by the reaction of the world to the city’s destruction.
1. There will be great mourning by the political leaders and governments of the world who are allied with the antichrist. There will be some nations whose power depends entirely on the antichrist and his capital. Then there will be other nations whose economy will be greatly affected. Remember: the whole world will be undergoing disaster after disaster at this time and many of the great cities of the world will be destroyed and reduced to ashes.
This means that the mourning for Babylon is symbolic of the mourning that will be going on worldwide. This also means that that mourning is self-centered. The leaders of the nation know that Babylon could have been an enormous help in rebuilding.
2. READ v. 11-19. There will be mourning by the businessmen and commercial people of the world. There will be businesses all over the world that are devastated by the collapse of Babylon and its wealth. There are at least thirty kinds of merchandise listed here in Scripture (verses 12-13).
Note what they are all mourning for—the loss of so much wealth. (v.17) Note also the reference to slavery. Babylon will be enslaving people all over the world. This holocaust that will happen will be like every holocaust down through the history. The souls of men will mean no more than another piece of merchandise, all to be used for the benefit of the state and the comfort of the supporters of the state.
3. There will be mourning by the shippers or sea captains of the world. Babylon will lie at the crossroads of the world for trade. When the city is destroyed, the shipping industry will suffer.
Many feel that this destruction is referring to an atomic bomb war. The devastation sounds much the same. The only difference between the destruction of an atomic war and the destruction of the end time is that God Himself is going to launch the destruction in the end time. In fact, God says He is going to destroy the godless cities by sending a great earthquake.
The point is the destruction and the catastrophic effects of the destruction are going to be worldwide. The survivors will have little left of the world they have always known.
4. READ v. 20. There will be rejoicing by the heavenly host. This rejoicing will be because the ungodliness and evil of the world are conquered. Righteousness is soon to be established among all people. Jesus Christ is to come soon and set up His kingdom on earth. There will be no more rebellion and rejection of God. God will be worshipped and served by all people on earth. So there is no wonder there will be rejoicing.
READ 21-23. Note 2 points about the destruction of Babylon.
1. The destruction will be violent. The picture is of a mighty angel taking a huge boulder and casting it into the sea. The violence of the whole scene is clearly pictured.
2. The destruction will be total. The boulder disappeared immediately. Babylon will be found no more. The destruction will be swift and violent and the city will be utterly devastated and reduced to ashes.
READ 24. The reasons for Babylon’s destruction are repeated. By the way, these are the same sins that God will judge any nation, government, society, or people.
1. There is pride and arrogance.
2. There is magic, sorcery, and corruption.
3. There is deception.
4. There is the persecution of believers.
5. There is the misuse of wealth, selfishly living in luxury, indulgence, and extravagance.
6. There is the corruption of people.
All of these will lead to the collapse of political Babylon. Let us take heed that this doesn’t happen in our world today.
