Revelation 18, Babylon as a Physical Entity

Rev 18:1-3 (ESV) After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice,

"Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
She has become a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3 For all nations have drunk
 the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living."



• "After this" meaning what?
• After the image of the Babylonian system's destruction, we repeat the story but now in a physical sense
• Specifically, Verses 2 and 3 repeat previous prophecies, thereby reaffirming the fact that Babylon was never destroyed
• Here, we are told that Babylon's new inhabitants are
Isa 13:19-22 (ESV) And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah
when God overthrew them.
20  It will never be inhabited
or lived in for all generations;
no Arab will pitch his tent there;
no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But wild animals will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there ostriches will dwell,
and there wild goats will dance.
22 Hyenas will cry in its towers,
and jackals in the pleasant palaces;
its time is close at hand
and its days will not be prolonged.

• A Dalhan is a demon that rides an ostrich in the desert. All the animals listed are pictures we have of demons
• Three groups have engaged Babylon
• Nations (people of the world) - drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality
• Political leaders (kings of the earth) -  committed immorality with her (larger sense than just sexual, but anything immoral and against what God has said is true)
• Merchants of the earth - have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living (greed, the super-rich, those who are incredibly wealth at the expense of others, …)
• APPLICATION: These are sins that God is judging the world. And these are the things that are increasing in our society, and in our Christian lives. They are warning to us regarding our own behaviors.


Rev 18:4-8 (ESV) Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

"Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
6  Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,
and repay her double for her deeds;
mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.
7  As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
'I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
and mourning I shall never see.'
8 For this reason her plagues will come in a single day,
death and mourning and famine,
and she will be burned up with fire;
for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her."



• The story adds more detail.
• God warns his people to get out (to come out of the first group, the nations). Not sure how they could survive in the city without the "mark" anyway
• Judgment is coming because of her sins (this goes back all the way to the time of Babylon and before)
• The reaching to heaven reminds us of one of Babylon's first sins (the bricks used to build the tower of Babel)
• Babel represents a system that is opposed to God
• It is not just idolatry but luxury
• In both cases, you can own something but it doesn't have to own you
• You can have nice things, but you don't have to live for your nice things
• The entire destruction takes a day. The burning probably occurs in the last hour (vs. 8)
• Two more reasons for her destruction (or insight into Babylon's character is seen here)
• Her arrogance (APPLICATION: this is the first sin, pride)
• Her belief that she was above the troubles of the earth
• Implication is that she really did not care about other's problems -- they were never her problems (otherwise in compassion she would have hurt for others)


Rev 18:9-10 (ESV) And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10  They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, "Alas! Alas! You great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For in a single hour your judgment has come."



• How is it that the judgment comes in a single hour?
• The attack appears to take much more than an hour (probably a day - verse 8), yet the transformation to fire and to something like Sodom and Gomorrah may be the "hour" event that the observers are referencing
• This is the second group that laments over her loss
• The kings of the earth -- the political leaders
• Involved in the sexual immorality
• Involved in the luxury
• APPLICATION: The destruction of Babylon is because they disobeyed God's moral laws on sexuality. Also, they lived for luxury items. If God destroyed them, what will He do to protect his children from those sins?


Rev 18:11-20 (ESV) And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.

14 "The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
are lost to you,
never to be found again!"

15  The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

16 "Alas, alas, for the great city
 that was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
17 For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste."

And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,

"What city was like the great city?"

19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

"Alas, alas, for the great city
 where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For in a single hour she has been laid waste.
20  Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has given judgment for you against her!"



• This is the third group (vs 11-16), the merchants (businessmen)
• Interesting in this list of 29 items
• Human trafficking is listed
• Second most lucrative crime globally, surpassed only by the drug trade (US State Dep., June 2012)
• APPLICATION: The world loves wealth above the dignity of humanity (this is such a sick sin)
• The fourth group are the middle men, transporters, and sailors
• Their concern is the loss of wealth
• The emphasis on the ships suggest that the city will be a seaport (this could argue against Babylon being rebuilt). Or it could just suggest a transportation center.


Rev 18:21-24 (ESV) Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

"So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
22 and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,
will be heard in you no more,
and a craftsman of any craft
will be found in you no more,
and the sound of the mill
will be heard in you no more,
23 and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of all who have been slain on earth."



• This verse is a reference to a passage in Jeremiah
Jer 51:60-64 (ESV) Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: "When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62 and say, 'O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.' 63 When you finish reading this book,   tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64 and say, 'Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.'"

• Two more reasons are emphasized
• Deception of her sorcery (engaged in the occult), word is the word for pharmacy
• Blood of the saints (killed believers)
• CONCLUDING THOUGHT: God finishes all of his prophecies against Babylon at the end of tribulation
• Is it the literal Babylon? That would be the logical hermeneutic
• But the non-literal Babylon precedes the literal destruction, therefore Babylon could be another city which carries on, and represents the Babylon worldview
• Remember the city in one of the seven churches, who for a time, had the actual seat of Satan
• Is it Rome (7 Hills, 4th largest city in EU), Paris(not near a port), London (#2 richest), NYC (#1 richest), Berlin (not near a port), Babel (not near a port)?