Do you ever look around at all the evil in our world and wonder how much longer God can withhold judgment? I do. We are witnessing the downward spiral into depravity that Paul so clearly described in Romans chapter one. He wrote, ^“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32 ESV).

Today we see the immorality, perversion, and the destruction of life through abortion and human trafficking; it’s horrendous! People who have committed cold-blooded, premeditated murder are hailed by many as cultural icons (think Luigi Mangione, killer of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson), or Lindsay Clancy, who killed her three children and then tried to take her own life. It’s appalling! We shouldn’t be surprised. This is the result of rejecting God and His truth.

Unfortunately, it’s only going to get worse. You can accuse me of being a prophet of doom and gloom, but Jesus and the apostles predicted it. Does that mean the situation is hopeless? Absolutely not! But there’s only one remedy, and that is the transformation that takes place when a person places their faith in Christ as the only means of salvation. No political party or system, no humanitarian program, no amount of education can bring about lasting individual and cultural change. It will happen one life at a time, as people surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

We’re not the only people to struggle with what appears to be God’s “hands-off” approach to evil. The prophet Habakkuk, 600 years before Christ, asked, “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?” (Habakkuk 1:13 ESV). But God did not leave Habakkuk or us in the dark about His ultimate response to the wicked. Read the entire book of Habakkuk; it’s only 3 short chapters. God’s delay in judging the wicked emboldens them. They scoff, like those in Habakkuk’s day, “Where is the God of justice?” But God sees, He knows, and eventually will bring the seeming invincibility of the wicked to a catastrophic and final end.  

That’s what we’ll see in our study today, titled “The Fall of Babylon,” and our text is Revelation 18:1-8.

¹After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 

² And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 

³ For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”

⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 

⁵ For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 

⁶ Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 

⁷ In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 

⁸ Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

In this text, we witness the PROCESSES by which Almighty God will accomplish the destruction of Babylon.

The First Process is,

The Cry of Judgment

Before we begin our exposition of this text, there’s something you should know. Much of the language of this text comes directly from the Old Testament prophets, and especially Jeremiah chapters 50-52. The scenes described in these passages have never been fulfilled in the way that is required by the statements made in Scripture. That means this is yet in the future.

Our text opens with the words, “after these things.” This marks a revelation taking place after chapter 17. John sees another angel coming down from heaven. He is different from the angel in the previous chapter, but another of a similar kind. He has several unique characteristics.

First, he has great authority, delegated by God to do a great work on His behalf.  Second, he brightens the earth with his glory as he comes. It may well be that he will make his dramatic appearance on a darkened stage, because the fifth bowl judgment will have plunged the world into darkness (16:10). His glorious brilliance against the blackness will be an awe-inspiring sight to the terrified earth dwellers.

Third, the angel cries with a loud voice. No one will be able to ignore him or his message. His word of woe will only add to the terror and confusion of the earth-dwellers. He cries, “Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the Great…” The original grammar suggests a sudden event viewed as completed, though the context indicates a future event. In addition, the word order in the original text emphasizes the fallenness.

Some commentators believe the repetition highlights the fall of religious Babylon in chapter 17 and economic Babylon in this chapter.  Others think that the announcement of chapter 18 comes so closely after the destruction of the harlot in chapter 17 that it raises the question of whether the two are the same event.

Several reasons suggest that chapter 18 is a subsequent event, despite the similar terms. The woman who is destroyed in chapter 17 is made desolate, naked, and burned with fire by the beast with the ten horns. From this it may be concluded that the destruction of the harlot in chapter 17 is the fall of Babylon in its religious sense and that it probably occurs when the beast (Antichrist) assumes the role of God at the beginning of the great tribulation. The world church is destroyed in favor of a world religion honoring the political dictator, the beast out of the sea of chapter 13.[1]

Chapter 18 seems to view Babylon in its economic and political characteristics. Reading the Old Testament prophets makes it clear that the term Babylon is more than a false religious system originating in ancient Babel. Ancient Babylon also came to represent the political power of Nebuchadnezzar and was fulfilled in the first world empire of Daniel’s vision. The power of political and military empires often leads to economic domination. That is still true today.

What was the accusation against Babylon? “[She] has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!” If you recall the sixth trumpet in Revelation 9:13-16, there were 200 million formerly bound demons that were released from the Euphrates River in the vicinity of Babylon. This abandonment of Babylon to demons is a divine judgment stemming from the utter wickedness of its inhabitants, as described in verse 3. Further, Isaiah 34:11 describes how the birds will inhabit the desolate city.

Babylon’s destruction will also come “[Because] all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” Antichrist’s evil religious and economic empire will spread its tentacles to all nations.

That evil association will make the merchants of the earth rich just as the false church grew rich as it abandoned God. The nations have likewise prospered. The wealth originally collected by the apostate church is taken over by the political system in the great tribulation. The Antichrist can use his universal political power to exploit that accumulated wealth to the fullest. The alliance of politicians and merchants will result in a materialistic orgy like no other. The effect is likened to drunkenness, a spiritual and material stupor.

Today, we live in a world of luxury like never before. Hedonism seems to be the primary religion of many. Debauchery increases, and self-discipline is sneered at. But it is all an illusion; it provides no lasting satisfaction or joy, and ultimately it will be destroyed. Unfortunately, many who profess Christ pursue the same things. And that leads us to the next process.

The Next Process is,

The Command to Separate

In verse 4, John hears another voice from heaven that comes, not with a suggestion, but with an urgent command. “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” The angel’s message echoes the words of Isaiah 52:11, “Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves…” And Jeremiah 50:8, “Flee from the midst of Babylon, and go out of the land of the Chaldeans.”

Who are these people the voice is addressing? Throughout the terrifying judgments of the Tribulation, God will save people. The result of the Gospel preaching by the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, the two witnesses, and an angel flying in midheaven will be the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever known (Revelation 7:9). Many of these believers will be martyred for their faith in Christ when they refuse to take the mark of the beast. The survivors will face powerful temptations to participate in the system. Family and friends will no doubt pressure them to save themselves by accepting the mark of the beast. The need to obtain the necessities of life will also pressure them to conform to the system (Revelation 13:17).[2]

This is a call for God’s people to disentangle themselves from the world system lest they suffer the same judgments as the wicked. Remember, there will be tremendous pressure on the righteous people on earth during the Tribulation to conform to the Antichrist’s system. While this is a call specifically to those living at that time, we must remember that throughout history, greed and the desire for acceptance by the world have caused the church and her institutions to compromise with the spirit of Babylon as it was manifested then.

The New Testament writers echo this call to separation. “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). Paul appeals to the Corinthians, “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you” (2 Corinthians 6:17).

Christ-followers today face tremendous pressure to compromise with evil. As I was preparing this teaching, I read a news article about a PCUSA church in the south that has ordained a practicing “transgender lesbian” as pastor of their congregation. That’s spitting in God’s face, and piling up sins that reach to heaven!

The materialist mindset assails us from every direction. We’re given the impression that there are certain things in life that we’re entitled to, that we deserve, and if we don’t get them, we’re being cheated. The only thing we truly deserve is death because of our sin, but God has graciously given us eternal life and many other gifts.  

The reason for the angel’s warning was, “For her sins have been heaped up to heaven (like a new Tower of Babel), and God has remembered her iniquities.” Just as God took note of man’s arrogance, pride, and rebellion back then, so this future Babylon will suffer His wrath similarly.

God, the Almighty, knows our tendencies, so he inspired the apostle John to write, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

This brings us to the final process by which God brings destruction on Babylon.

The Final Process is,

The Catalog of Punishment

The final verses of our text lay out the catalog of punishments that will be visited on Babylon. “Render to her just as she rendered, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.” Note the repetition of the doubling of judgment. The Old Testament law of retribution is sometimes called the lex talionis. We know it better as “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.”  

The normal law of retribution, however, is here doubled in recognition of the enormity of the sin of Babylon. Accordingly, the voice demands, “Double unto her double according to her works.” In keeping with this principle, the cup of iniquity which Babylon filled is now to be filled twice with the measure of her judgment. There is no mercy for the utter apostasy found in Babylon in all her phases of operation. The verb translated “fill” is literally “mix” or “mingle” as in the preparation of a drink. The same verb is used in 14:10 in connection with the wine of the wrath of God.[3] Babylon had been brutal in the persecutions that she meted out, particularly the martyrdom of the saints. Now, that would return upon her.

Further, the same law of retribution is indicated in verse 7, where the standard of her judgment is compared to her luxurious living, in which she was given to self-glorification. As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxurious sensuality, so much so shall she be repaid in torment and mourning, because she said in her heart, “I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I will never see.”

Because of her presumption, in which she said, “I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow,” she is going to be rewarded by sudden destruction from the Lord, which, according to verse 8, will come in one day in the form of plagues, death, mourning, and famine, resulting in her utter destruction by fire. Her vaunted strength is as nothing compared to the power of God. She shall be utterly burned with fire, because strong is the Lord who judges her. Notice that, like the harlot of chapter 17, commercial Babylon will also be burned with fire.

At the beginning of this episode, I asked, “Do you ever look around at all the evil in our world and wonder how much longer God can withhold judgment?” We must remember, God takes the long view; He sees, He knows, and He will ultimately judge in righteousness. Babylon’s doom is certain and cannot be avoided.

I marvel at God’s patience and mercy. But as our text clearly points out, there is a limit. The time will come when those who have rejected him will be called to account. Today, His patience and mercy are still being extended. He’s still inviting men and women to come to Him in faith, believing that His sacrifice is the only acceptable payment for their sin, and then to live a life separated from the sensuality and corruption of the world’s systems. While living for Jesus today may make you seem out of touch with the world and the culture, that choice will preserve you from the destruction that will come upon Babylon and upon all who reject the rule of God in their lives. The choice is yours.  

[1] Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, p. 270

[2] MacArthur, New Testament Commentary on Revelation, p. 884-885

[3] Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, p. 272-273