Revelation 14:8, “Then another angel followed him through the skies, shouting, "Babylon is fallen--that great city is fallen--because she seduced the nations of the world and made them drink the wine of her passionate immorality."”
This other angel is more than likely another angel not the first angel pronouncing the Good News. Unlike the first angel the message of this angel will be judgment. This then would point to the rejection of the first angel’s message. Babylon is fallen--that great city is fallen. The repetition of the phrase fallen is important because it highlights for us the finality and competeness of Babylon’s final fall which we will be examining in Revelation 18. More than likely the unbelieving world having put its stock in the Antichrist, believing upon the false prophet and his empire will be shocked at the announcement of this angel’s message. The unbelieving world having put its trust in the most powerful empire in human history, could be destroyed will be inconceivable to his followers (13:4). Babylon in the sense of the usage of this verse refers not just to the restored city, but to the Antichrist’s worldwide political, economic and religious empire.
Babylon has always from its inception symbolized evil and rebellion against God. Babylon was founded by Nimrod (Gen 10:9), a proud, powerful God-rejecting ruler. Babel (Babylon) was the site of the first organized system of idolatrous false religion (Gen 11:1-14). The tower of Babel was a monument to the expression of that false religion, but it was also a ziggurat, a building designed to facilitate idol worship. God judged there the people’s idolatry and rebellion by confusing their language and scattering them over the globe (Gen 11:5-9). Yet what happened as a result of the spreading was that false religion and its seeds of idolatry spread from Babylon, to take root wherever these proud rebels and their descendants settled.
Just like at the Tower of Babel, so will mankind once again be during the Tribulation under the final Babylon, and then history will come full circle. The final Babylon will be personified as a harlot (17:1-5) is described as she seduced the nations of the world and made them drink the wine of her passionate immorality. This is just an introduction to concepts and symbols which we will be examining in Revelation 17 and 18 during our discussion of them there. The world will be full of itself and not of God, must as it is today; it will view itself as a form of truth but in essence deny that truth through the resistance to any foundation from which truth can be relied upon. It is the same today in our philosophical worldly outlook. If we view the world through the lens of the world, how then can we say we have a foundation? If the Word of God is true and its foundation is secured in the knowledge and revelation of God’s love for humanity through the Cross then how can any other foundation stand the test of time? The reality and the truth is that no other foundation than the foundation of God’s holy Word will prevail and that has been the case throughout the ages.
Thumas (passion) describes strong, consuming lusts and desires. As a result of their passion, sinners will engage in an orgy or rebellion, idolatry, and hatred of God. While sexual sin will more than likely be abundant during this age, the immorality spoken of here is spiritual prostitution to Antichrist’s false religion; it pictures here unfaithfulness to God. Having imbibed the wine of the seductive harlot, the nations of the world will continue on their course of spiritual defection from God and end up drinking the “wine of the wrath of God” (vs.10). We will now examine the third angel who reveals that this will be disastrous. This judgment will be detailed as was said in our discussions of 16:17-19, as well as Chapters 17 and 18. Now we turn our focus to the third angel promising damnation.
Pastor Jenkins
