Bible Commentaries
Revelation 18

Verses 1-7

SOME BABYLONIAN PRINCIPLES

Then I heard another voice from heaven say: 'Come out of her, my people so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues.' Revelation 18:4

The scripture now turns to the final judgment of Babylon and its system. Her judgment actually stretches from Revelation chapters 14 through 18. This is an extremely important event of the last days and we are attempting to give it plenty of space here. Babylon, once a great international power, has somehow become a home for demons, evil spirits and unclean things (18:2). Babylon has polluted the nations with her adulteries (18:3). She has also polluted the church of God.

While part of Babylon pretends to be religious, she has actually been the mother of adulteries for kings and nations (cf. Revelation 17:5). It is no secret that after her natural fall, the Greeks and Romans imported Babylon's numerous false religions to the West. They later found their way into many practices of Christianity. ^(F1) Here Christians are urgently commanded to come out of her, lest they partake of her judgments (18:4).

We should note that Christians are nowhere commanded to judge Babylon. We are only commanded to come out of her. God will put it into the heart of the Beast to bring judgment upon Babylon.

As we have noted, Babylon has not only affected Christians, but she has also deeply affected the Jews. Since the subject of Babylon is an extremely complicated one, we need to look at the major Babylonian principles, in order that we may understand God's great wrath against this city.

We see first of all that Babylon represents spiritual pride (cf. Jeremiah 50:29-32). She boasts "'I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn" (18:7b). We remember that the people in Genesis 11:4 wanted to make a name for themselves. How many Christians and church leaders in our day have sought to make a name for themselves and to glorify themselves? How many of us would secretly like to do the same thing? This is all quite different from the spirit of the Messiah who "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness" (Phil. 2:7).

Second, there is the principle of idolatry. Babylon was famous for her gods. Babylon had a host of some 300 gods of heaven and another 600 of earth. This did not count the many spirits who were also worshipped. ^(F2) It was "a land of idols" (Jeremiah 50:38). We simply cannot comprehend the extent to which this Babylonian idolatry has affected the world, Judaism and even Christianity.

Third, Babylon was also famous for her covetousness (Jeremiah 51:13). The alarming thing about Babylon's covetousness is that she is merchandising in gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, cinnamon, fragrances, ointments, frankincense, wine, oil, flour, wheat, etc. Almost all of these things represent pictures of redemption and of divine worship. Most were either present in Israel's sacrifices or had to do with her worship. Babylon also merchandises in the souls of men (18:12-13; 2 Peter 2:3). She still leads people in chains of religious bondage. We note here that all the merchants who made themselves rich by her excesses will weep and mourn for her at her fall (18:15).

Fourth, Babylon is famous for her sorcery. We read in Revelation 18:23, "By your magic spell all the nations were led astray." The prophet Isaiah says, "…Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you" (Isaiah 47:13). Sorcery might be defined as taking our spiritual directions from any place but from the Lord and the Bible. It is no secret that the church is filled with various types of sorcery today.

Fifth, Lady Babylon is an adulteress as we saw earlier in Revelation 17:5. To adulterate is to mix and to weaken. Babylonian principles have subtly infiltrated and weakened true religion.^(F3)It has come about through compromise with the beastly world system, and it surely has cost Christianity its pristine purity. We remember that it was in Babylon that the people partied and drank from God's holy temple vessels.

Sixth, Babylon is guilty of murder. In Revelation 17:6 we read, "I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished." The spirit of Babylon has managed to pursue and destroy godly people in every age. Often they have been killed in the name of religion. It is ironic that many of Christianity's famous martyrs were actually put to death by the church.

Seventh, the land of Babylon is shot through with division. We remember that after the Tower of Babel episode the people of all the earth became divided in language (Genesis 11:7-8). The Bible clearly teaches us about the unity of our faith. In Ephesians 4:4-6 we read, "There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." There are not two nations of Israel or two churches, or ten or a thousand. We can safely say that most things dividing the church are of Babylon, while the things that bring the church together in true unity are generally of God.

Because of all this, Babylon is a land of confusion. It is also a land of deep spiritual bondage. It is a place where God's people can no longer freely sing his praises (Psalm 137:2-4). Thus we realize that Babylon represents everything that is false and abhorrent to true Christianity.

We can plainly say that Babylonian principles are in the church today and to some degree have always been a part of Christianity. They were even found in the first century church. It was the Babylonian principle of greed that infected the early Christians, Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11. The great apostle Peter had to be rebuked publicly by Paul for his spiritual pride in Galatians 2:11-14. The beloved apostle John was once denied entry to an early church because its leader, Diotrephes, loved to have the preeminence (3 John 1:9)

Verses 8-24

MIGHTY BABYLON COMES DOWN

Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. Revelation 18:8

Now we hear in Revelation, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit (18:2).

We see that Babylon is at last judged by God. The cries of those lamenting her ruin rise before the Lord (18:18-19). But God's heavens, saints, apostles and prophets are bidden to rejoice over her downfall (18:20). Like its namesake of old, the city will be thrown down with violence and will never rise again (18:21).

The pleasant sounds of music, of workmen, of grinding at the millstone will never be heard in her again. She will be missing the light of the lamp, the voice of the bridegroom and the bride (18:23). In other words, these symbols make clear that the uniquely Christian elements will be snatched from her. The nations will never again be led astray by her magic spell. The prophets and saints will never again be killed in her.

God commands earlier, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4). God's true saints must now come out of Babylon. This is urgent, since Babylon is about to be judged and will fall. However, the coming out of Babylon seems to be primarily a thing of the heart and spirit as we mentioned. We must resist the temptation to point our fingers at churches or organizations that we think are "Babylonish." We must remember to keep the fingers pointed primarily at our own hearts.

God's true saints must now renounce her defiled ways. They must get free of her pride, her adultery, her sorcery and idolatry. They must loose themselves from the bonds of her covetousness and the slothful dependence upon her many luxuries.

But it is extremely difficult for us just to come out of something. We must come into something as well, or else we will be left stranded in no-man's land. It is clear from scripture that we come out of Babylon in order to go up to Zion. This speaks of a last day return to Zion, to our Hebrew heritage (Hebrews 12:22-24) and to the eternal word of God. In Jeremiah 50:5, the prophet says of those coming out of Babylon, "They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten."