In Revelation 18 John presents a perspective of the fall of the great world city Babylon the great that is molded on Ezekiel’s lament for the city of Tyre (Ezek. 26-27). Revelation 18 imitates this lament, featuring the kings, merchants, and seafarers whose alliance with wicked Babylon is ended by God’s judgment. This scene of despair is contrasted at the end with the rejoicing of heaven and the people of God.

When John wrote the book of Revelation, the city of Babylon had long since been destroyed. Babylon symbolized imperial Rome, the powerful and decadent city that dominated the first-century Mediterranean world. Rome itself was symbolic, standing along with Babylon as a symbol of the satanic realm of secularism in idolatrous opposition to God. Her judgment is lamented in these verses by those who had feasted from her table.

The first to lament Babylon’s fall are “the kings of the earth” (v. 9). These are the client princes who relied on the empire for their prestige and power, including the rulers in the province of Asia, where John’s churches were located. These rulers had embraced the corruption of Rome so as to gain power from her. The kings lamented Rome’s greatness and might in verse 10. With the great city fallen, they grieve not for her but for their lost patronage.

The second mourners are the merchants, who grieve over losing the great market for their luxurious products (v. 11). Historians describe the staggering amount of trade that flowed into Rome. People compare today’s Western decadence with that of ancient Rome, but there is no comparison. The citizens of Rome led lives of spectacular wealth and stunning opulence. The riches of the ancient world were poured into the lap of Rome. Against this backdrop, we are not surprised at the wealthy cargo that the merchants lament as lost in verses 12-13. If the rulers valued power, the merchants loved splendor and beauty (v. 14). Verse 16 views the great city as a sumptuously beautiful woman dressed in the most alluring clothes and the richest jewelry.

The third group of mourners consists of the seafarers, whose ships carried the merchants’ cargo (vv. 17-18). The ship captains and their crews see from afar the smoke of the great burning city. Unlike the kings, who sought power from Rome, and the merchants, who relished the luxurious living of Rome, the shipmasters care only for the money they made from Rome (v. 19). There will be no further chance for them to get rich quick and make such lavish profits. Contrary to Jesus’ advice in the Sermon on the Mount, they had stored up treasure on earth, rather than in heaven, and the time had now come when all their riches would be lost (Matt. 6:19-20). In the judgment of the Babylonian world system, those whose hearts are fixed to the things of the world will suffer total loss.

The lament of the kings, merchants, and seafarers is not the only perspective on the fall of mighty Babylon. Verse 20 interrupts with the voice of John’s angel-interpreter: “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!” In dramatizing Babylon’s fall, John leaves us in no doubt that this was God’s doing.

Now, as John looks to the end of history when the Babylonian world system will come under judgment, “a mighty angel” appears with “a stone like a great millstone” (v. 21). The great millstone crashes into the water and sinks to the bottom of the deepest sea. This symbolizes the utter ruin of the evil world, which perishes forever because of idolatry and sin. The angel follows up this symbolic gesture with a eulogy recounting the judgment befalling every aspect of Babylonian life. In verses 21-23 he intones the words “no more” six times. Babylon herself “will be found no more.” With her fall the sound of music, the busy noise of craftsmen, and the clanging sounds of daily industry “will be heard in you no more (. 22).

There are three lessons we can learn from Babylon’s judgment and fall. The first is that Christians must learn how to use the things of the world rightly, enjoying God’s good gifts without falling into the world’s idolatry. Just as the kings, merchants, and seafarers stood far off from Babylon in fear, Christians must keep distance from the materialism that characterizes Babylon’s spirit. Christians are perfectly free to enjoy good things in the world and even to appreciate luxuries, so long as we do so in gratitude to God and with generosity toward those in need.

A second lesson from this passage is that we should never doubt the certainty of God’s judgment on the wicked. Long years after John recorded this vision, it seemed to many that Rome would never fall but would endure forever. Yet the day came, in A.D. 410, when the Visigoth chieftain Alaric overran and sacked the city of Rome, bringing the empire to an end. Many Christians were utterly dismayed in the insecurity of the moment, just as many Christians today tremble for the collapse of Western society.

Finally, Christians should realize that in the midst of this very world, with its history moving forward to certain judgment, Christ is building His church that will endure eternally in glory. Jesus promised, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). These judgments display God’s sovereignty and power. Those same almighty attributes ensure that the work He is doing now in our midst through the gospel is certain to succeed. Knowing this, we labor in the world for eternity. We seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, as Jesus said, confident that all other things will be given to us with Him (Matt. 6:33).

Revelation 18:9-24 Study Questions:

How do the kings and merchants of the earth react to the fall of Babylon (vv. 9-11)?

In verses 12-13, John builds up a marvelous catalog of luxury goods as well as basics of trade – flour, wheat, cattle and so on. But what horror do we find at the end of this list?

How does the final item of “cargo” reveal the depth of Babylon’s wickedness (vv. 12-14)?

What prophetic act does the mighty angel perform to indicate judgment on Babylon’s violence (v. 21)?

Babylon is a city founded on violence; not only the blood of the martyrs. Babylon has been at the center of a network of violence that spanned the world, and all who have been slaughtered on earth have, in a sense, been slaughtered at the behest of Babylon. Where do we see violence of Babylon revealed in our own society?

How might we live in a way that opposes this violence?

One could hardly find a stronger statement of biblical opposition to the world than is stated in Revelation 18. A simple reading of verses 2 and 4 would seem to urge Christians to adopt a very negative attitude toward the world. However, this attitude of opposition to worldly culture is not the only view in the Bible. In Philippians 4:8, Paul urged us to appreciate good things wherever we find them. The world was made good by God and was precious to Him as His own possession (Ps. 24:1).

The angel’s hostility is directed not to the physical earth but to sinful worldly culture. What God hates is Babylon as a symbol of the idol-worshiping, sensually perverse world system in rebellion to heaven. The world is not evil in itself but only in rebellion and sin. The most virulent atheist today, the most arrogantly seductive cultural harlot, and the most cynical abortion doctor all bear the stamp of the image of God. It was in this world that Jesus taught, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44).

In calling forth Babylon’s fall, the angel condemns the depravity of its condition in verse 2. This statement mirrors Isaiah’s prophecy that foretold Babylon’s complete desolation to the extent that “wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures…Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant places (Isa. 13:20-22). Revelation takes this same imagery to its ultimate extreme, saying that worldly Babylon will be haunted by demons, unclean spirits, and defiled beasts. This imagery of occupation by violent and unclean animals symbolizes what happens in a society whenever God is rejected.

The apostle Paul said in Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death,” including the death of any society that knowingly turns against God and falls under His judgment. The living death depicted in Babylon is caused by the reign of moral depravity in rebellion to God. First, Babylon is condemned for exporting a culture of sexual indulgence and perversion throughout the world (v. 3). This statement suggests that those who lead masses of people into sin will be especially accountable to God’s wrath.

Tyrannical governments rely on the sensual inducements of immorality to gain allegiance and strengthen their power. Furthermore, “the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living” (v. 3). The point is not to condemn honest gain from business but to oppose merchants and corporate titans who so worship money that they traffic in the poison of sin. The angel’s condemnation of Babylon warns both citizens engaged in public service and those engaged in private enterprise that God is keeping tabs on their practice, and will hold them especially to account for their promotion of sexual immorality and other abuses of their fellow man.

After the first angel’s rejoicing for fallen Babylon, another voice is heard from heaven that either belongs to God or certainly represents God. This voice is directed to John and his readers, who live in the very Babylon under judgment. Their call is both simple and urgent: “Come out of her, my people” (v. 4). So how do Christians obey the command, “Come out of her, my people”? The answer is given as the voice continues: “lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues” (v. 4). Christians need to avoid two dangers in relating to worldly Babylon” the danger of participating in its sin and the danger of suffering its judgment.

Separation from sin can be achieved only by a no to the world and a yes to God’s Word. So important is this principle of thinking and acting by God’s Word that it was Paul’s exhortation in the long book of Romans: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2).

The voice from heaven aids Christians in this calling by pointing out that Babylon’s “sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (v. 5). This statement warns us against taking a casual view of sin, especially in light of the Bible’s teaching about God’s mercy and grace (Heb. 8:12; 10:17). The sins that are so flagrantly discounted by a depraved society are each an infinite and eternal offense to the heart of the holy God.

Beyond the call to come out from the sinful ways of the Babylonian world, we may make three more specific applications, each of which is tied to the statements of judgment in verses 6-8.First, since the sinful world is destined for judgment, Christians should not invest our ultimate dreams or seek our true treasures in this world. Jesus taught, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.” We should not set our hearts on earthly things because they are inherently unstable. Even in this life, Jesus warned, moths and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal (Matt. 6:19-20). While we are in this world, we are bound to have a good many interests here. But those who know the grace and glory of Christ should hold Him as our highest treasure (Matt. 6:21). Our minds should be interested in the work of His church and of the gospel. And our chief interests should be those bound up with the kingdom of heaven.

Second, since this judgment reveals God’s hatred of the world’s sinful priorities, Christians should increasingly take the attitude that is pleasing to God and contrary to the spirit of the world. Some believers are reluctant to be different from the world because they fear being discovered as Christians. But what does this say about our commitment to the Lord? Seeing His response to Babylon’s arrogance and sins, we should cultivate instead the holy humility that characterized Jesus and pleases our God. God’s revulsion for the sinful world is vividly displayed in verse 7. Here, it is especially the self-glorifying attitude of the world that offends God. Similar attitudes are prevalent in secular society today; Christians should turn their hearts toward God in humility, using the things of the world in stewardship to Him.

Finally, Christians are always to remember the fate in store for the ungodly world in verse 8. Like the world that Noah departed before the flood that rose suddenly, and like Sodom, which fell in a day to the fire and brimstone crashing down from God, the entire world awaits a judgment that will utterly destroy everything that sinners hold dear. When judgment comes, there will be no escape for those who have rejected the gospel offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Why should you live differently from the world in sin? First, for God’s sake, then second for the world’s sake. Our world desperately needs the testimony of a lived Christianity that bears witness to the God of salvation, His judgment on sin, and the forgiveness He offers through the blood of Jesus Christ. This gives the most important answer to the question of Christianity and culture, as commanded by Jesus Himself: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20).

Revelation 18:1-8 Study Questions:

What message does the angel with great authority bring (vv. 2-3)?

As those who live in a society that places a high value on human achievement, what lessons might we learn from the fall of Babylon?

What specific judgments are pronounced on Babylon for her sin (vv. 6-8)?

How is this a just punishment for Babylon?

How do we discern the point at which a government or other worldly power passes from being a servant of God to putting itself in the place of God?

In what ways do we also need to “come out” from present-day “Babylons” with their corrupt systems, and separate ourselves from their ways?

John had seen the great prostitute Babylon, riding the scarlet beast and drenched in the blood of the saints. “When I saw her,” he said, “I marveled greatly” (v. 6). It seems that John was set back by the appalling vision. The angel followed up with: “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her (v. 7). This interpretation of this vision was designed to comfort John’s fear and encourage him to persevere in faith.

The angel’s message is organized by the three main portions of this passage. First, John needs to recognize the beast and the manner of his appearing. Second, he must understand the powers arrayed by the beast for war against Christ. Third, he is to marvel at the destruction that God has ordained to be at work between the harlot and the beast, displaying His sovereign power. The perspective we gain from studying this difficult chapter is intended to give us boldness to stand for God in this hostile world.

By now in our study, we are familiar with the beast, who represents violent worldly power arrayed against God and His people. He was first mentioned in chapter 11, where he briefly had power to slay the two witnesses, symbolizing the martyr church (11:7-8), until they were raised from the dead before God’s judgment on the beast (11:11-13). In chapter 12, we learn that the beast’s master, the seven-headed dragon, Satan, makes unsuccessful war against the church, which conquers him by the blood of Christ and “the word of their testimony” (12:11). In chapter 13, John again sees this beast making war on the saints, being permitted by God to conquer them for a limited period (13:5-7).

This background material fits in with the description of Revelation 17:8, “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.” The pattern follows the record of Satan in history. The devil was and then was not, that is, he reigned over the nations in sin until Christ defeated him on the cross and overthrew his kingdom. This does not minimize the evil activity of Satan in our own time, but points out that his power has been restrained so that the gospel may go forth to the world (Rev. 20:3). Although his reign was and now is not, there will be a brief time at the end of history when he will once more be permitted “to deceive the nations” and “gather them for battle” against Christ (20:7-8). Therefore, Satan “was, is not, and is about to rise” again.

The angel’s second point to John unfolds the meaning of the seven heads and ten horns, in order to show the powers joined with the beast for the war against Christ. This passage is so difficult that we are not surprised at the way the angel introduces it: This calls for a mind with wisdom” (v. 9). Wisdom is needed not only to understand the material but also to keep its meaning in focus. The angel begins by saying that “the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated” (v. 9). This seems to be a clear reference to Rome, the city of seven hills, which was in John’s time the main representative of the beast and the seat of the harlot’s seductions. Mountains are often used in the Bible to depict spiritual powers arrayed against God (see Isa. 2:2; Jer. 51:25; Ezek. 35:3).

If the seven hills are easy to understand, what follows in verse 10 is not. There are three main theories for interpreting this verse, two of which are historical and one of which is symbolic. There are several problems with the historical approaches that cannot work without arbitrary manipulation. This leads us to consider a symbolic approach, especially since the numbers seven and ten have been used this way throughout Revelation.

Seven stands for completeness and here would represent the totality of antichrist government throughout history. Picture a beast with seven heads, five of which have been cut off. The idea is that Christ’s first coming inflicted a deadly blow to Satan and his beast, who continues fighting undaunted, employing the power of his deadly sixth head, with the seventh yet to come. The point is that war is getting closer to its end. John’s readers were not at the end – theirs was the sixth head – but the last phase was beginning. The conflict will be fierce, but the end is not far off. There will be great suffering in John’s time and in the church’s future, with a great need for courage and perseverance, but Christians face the conflict, knowing that its duration is limited and that the end is near.

When the end comes, the church will face an eighth head (v. 11). Eight is the number of resurrection, which fits the Antichrist’s attempt to masquerade as Christ. Like all the previous horns, he is bent on world domination in rebellion to God. But he is different in that he is the genuine beast. Verse 12 says that the seventh king has “ten horns,” which “are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.” Symbolically, ten is another number for completion, this time representing the subordinate powers that assist the imperial beast.

In John’s day, Rome was organized in ten provinces, and it was mainly provincial leaders who persecuted the Christians. More generally, the ten horns symbolize the mighty ones of this earth in every realm: art, education, commerce, industry, government, in so far as they serve the central authority. With such allies exercising his authority, the Antichrist will dominate all society for a brief time – “for one hour” – during which period he will exalt himself in power. Being “of one mind,” the horns will “hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb” (vv. 13-14).

The only possible result of this warfare, however greatly the church may briefly suffer, is the total victory of Christ (v. 14). Worldly powers will unite under the beast to bring great affliction to Christians for periods during history and in an intense way at the very end. But just when the Antichrist seems to be grasping victory, Christ will appear and bring him utter and final ruin, while delivering believers into His kingdom of glory.

The final lesson calls for John to marvel at the self-destructive nature of worldly society. Verse 9 showed the harlot sitting on the seven mountains, as the mighty ones became drunk from her corrupting wine. Verse 18 now describes her as “the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.” The harlot symbolizes the entire economic and cultural system on which the world depends. Verse 15 describes her spread of immoral culture throughout the world. Like polluted waters flowing from Babylon, the harlot’s decadent culture spreads through her arrogant confidence, through the heart-stealing seduction of her promises of prosperity and through the brute force of the beast’s military might.

Given the close relationship with the harlot, we would expect the tyrannical beast to care for and protect her. Instead, the opposite happens as seen in verse 16. Why is this? One reason is that the pleasures of sin ultimately disappoint, turning evil men on one another in frustration. Another reason is that the beast and his worldly rulers do not love the people they have used.

Two statements directly relate to believers and urge Christians to be steadfast and faithful during evil times. First, when verse 14 tells of the Lamb’s conquest, it adds “those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” Here is a good definition of a Christian. The followers of Christ are those who have answered the call of the gospel to saving faith. They are those chosen by God’s sovereign grace, which ensures their eternal salvation. Their duty is simply to be faithful to their Savior and Lord. The faithfulness of Christians in opposing evil not only proves their salvation but makes a real contribution to Jesus’ victory in the end.

Second, we should note what the angel said about God’s sovereignty: “God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose…until the words of God are fulfilled” (v. 17). This means that God is not surprised by anything that happens in this evil age. The apparent advance of evil does not mean that God has lost control. Believers can trust Him, including His wisdom in working both against evil and through evil to glorify Himself and eternally bless His people. God’s Word is certain to be fulfilled.

Revelation 17:7-18 Study Questions:

What does it mean that the beast “carries” the whore of Babylon and gives her power (vv. 7-8)?

What explanation does the angel offer for the identity of the seven heads and tens horns first mentioned in verse 7?

What do the ten kings do first in verses 12-14?

In what way might we describe the next action of the ten kings (vv. 15-18) as “poetic justice”?

What examples can you think of in which evil ended up destroying itself recently?

What encouragement and hope do you find in this chapter and why?

How might we help those who suffer under the afflictions of the world’s systems?