The Word Made Fresh
1After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven with great authority. The earth shone with his grandeur. 2He called out in a mighty voice,
“Fallen! Fallen is the great Babylon!
now the home of demons,
the haunt of every unclean bird,
and every unclean foul and hateful beast.
3All the nations have drunk the wine
of the wrath of her adultery,
and the merchants of earth have become rich
from her excessive comforts.”
4Then I heard another voice from heaven, saying,
“Come away from her, my people!
Don’t participate in her sinfulness,
nor share in her plagues.
5Her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God has remembered them all.
6But give her what she herself has given,
and repay her double for what she has done;
mix a double portion for her in the same cup she mixed.
7She has glorified herself with luxuries,
so, give to her an equal amount of torment and grief,
because she has said in her heart,
“I am to rule as a queen, for I am not a widow,
and I will never experience grief!”
8And so, her plagues will all arrive on the same day.
There will be epidemics and mourning and famine.
She will be punished with fire,
for the Lord God is the Mighty One who judges her.”
9Then the kings from around the earth – the ones who engaged in adultery and lived with her in luxury – will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke rising from her burning. 10They were standing far off in fear of her punishment, saying,
“Agony and distress for the great city Babylon!
Your judgment will come in an hour!”
11Then the merchants of earth will weep and mourn for her because no longer will anyone purchase their goods – 12their cargos of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented woods, ivory carvings, items of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, select flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves and people’s bodies and souls.
14“The fruit your souls have desired has been taken away from you,
And all your dainties and splendors are lost to you,
never again to be found!”
15Those who bought and sold these things and grew rich from them will stand far off weeping and mourning in fear of her torment:
16“Woe! Woe to the great city,
dressed in fine linen, and with purple and scarlet,
decorated with gold, jewels, and pearls!
17In one hour, all these riches have been wasted!”
And all the ships’ captains and seagoers and sailors and those who trade on the seas stood ‘way off 18and called out as they saw the smoke rising from her burning, “Was ever a city like the great city?” 19They covered their heads with dust as they wept and mournfully cried,
“Woe! Woe to the great city where all the shipowners grew wealthy!
She has been destroyed in a single hour.
20Rejoice, heaven, and all you saints and apostles and prophets!
God has given you the judgment against her.”
21Then a great angel lifted a stone the size of a huge millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“Babylon the great city will be thrown down like this,
and will be found no more;
22the sound of harpists and minstrels and flutists and trumpeters
will no longer be heard in her;
and no tradesmen will ever again be found in her;
The sound of the millstone will no longer be heard in her;
23and no longer will any lamp shine its light in her,
nor will the voices of bridegroom and bride
be heard in her ever again;
because her merchants were the earth’s tycoons,
nations were deceived by her trickery,
24and the blood of prophets and saints
and all who have been slaughtered on the earth
was found in her.”
Commentary
1-3: John sees another angel, distinguished from the others by virtue of having great authority. For now, however, that authority is expended only in the task of announcing the reduction of Babylon/Rome. Verse 3 hearkens back to 14:8 where the same sentiment was expressed. There is a definite undercurrent running through Revelation that has to do with God taking the side of the poor and oppressed against the rich and powerful. In John’s time Christianity was still largely a movement of the lower socio-economic classes of the Empire.
4-8: Another voice joins in, beckoning believers to “come out of her.” This is not a summons to an actual migration; rather it is an invitation to a migration of the heart and soul. Some scholars have argued that “my people” in verse 4 is intended as an invitation for the Jewish people to join the movement with Christ at its head. Others see it as a general invitation to those believers who have perhaps not been as faithful as they should have been. Verses 6 and 7 seem to have God commanding them to punish Rome, as if the believers themselves will be the instruments of God’s wrath. Another way of reading the passage, though, has the believers merely acting in the role of Moses in that they will be the ones to bear God’s pronouncement of the punishment to follow — the plagues mentioned in verse 8.
9-10: The outlying parts of the Empire are pictured standing helplessly by.
11-19: Those who benefited materially from Roman rule begin to mourn. The voice from heaven pronounces their fate in verse 14. John pictures the kings, the trading merchants, the shipmasters and seafarers all crying out in despair over the sudden destruction of Rome.
20: In sharp contrast, the voice proclaims rejoicing among the saints, apostles, and prophets. God’s judgment upon Babylon/Rome, says the voice, is on their behalf.
21-24: John sees a further sign of Rome’s end — a mighty angel casting a giant millstone into the sea, a demonstration of the drama of Rome’s demise. He sees the destruction of the city in terms of the silence of all those who once reveled in it; musicians, artists and artisans, millers, even lovers. Merchants, it seems, are held to be sorcerers who merely deceive people into thinking the wares they provide will bring abundant life. Instead, they had established a culture, in partnership with the beast, in which the chosen ones of God were slaughtered.
Takeaway
You and I have experienced the truth that God doesn’t just rush in to rescue his people from every danger and every trial. In Revelation we are learning that God allows such things, but has prepared a wonderful future for the faithful that can never be taken away. We call it “heaven.” Keep the faith. Don’t despair. God has our backs.