Sunday School Notes: Revelation 18:1-3

¹ After these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven having great authority, and the earth was lit up with his glory. ² And he cried out with a strong voice saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! It has become a dwelling place for demons, and a prison for every unclean spirit, and a prison for every unclean bird, and a prison for every unclean and detestable beast. ³ For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the power of her luxury.

We saw both the grandeur and the prophesied fall of the great prostitute (Babylon) in chapter 17. The angel there told John Babylon would fall because she has encouraged the perversion of all who come under her influence. She herself has been acting in close association with the beast, the false Messiah, allowing it to carry her along. The rulers of the earth have, in turn, been intoxicated with the immorality of Babylon. She is drunk with the blood of the saints, and the nations have been willing participants in her immorality.

However, those same kings and merchants who have become enriched and empowered from this mutual relationship now turn upon Babylon. At the end of 17, the angel told John how the kings of the earth will conspire with the beast, throwing their authority in with it to destroy Babylon. This seems a strange thing to do, but it’s not unheard of within corrupt societies for their demise to come through rebellion, or through those who were considered friends.

Chapter 18 begins with an angelic declaration over the fate of Babylon and what she has become. All this is with a view to warning God’s people to flee from her and not be seduced by the wealth and power of the godless city. They need to remember what she really is, and what will become of her. This is followed by the mourning of the merchants, sailors, and rulers who rose up against her. They all weep over her demise, but there is no repentance for their part in her sin. Their chief concern seems to be over what they lose in terms of trade and prestige. The chapter ends with a recitation of the cultural things lost to Babylon in her fall: music, crafts, industry, the church. All these things she had by God’s grace, but through pride and blood-lust she threw them away, making very clear how little she thought of the Lord.

John sees “another angel” coming down from heaven. This is not the same angel from 17:1, and we know this not simply because John calls him “another angel,” but also from the way he describes the angel. He

Comes down from heaven: As a general rule, in Revelation bad angels fall from heaven but good ones come down. Back in 9:1, we identified the “star” that fell from heaven and opened the abyss to let out locusts as either Satan or some kind of supernatural being under demonic control. As we’ll see, the angel who comes down from heaven in 20:1 with the key to the abyss and a chain to bind and lock up Satan is clearly good.

Has great authority: The last time we saw the phrase “great authority” was with reference to the beast in 13:2. It was given power, a throne, and “great authority” from the dragon (Satan). As the false Messiah, it received these things in contrast to the power, throne, and great authority Jesus received from the Father (John 5:26-27; 17:2).

Lights up the world with his radiant glory: In 10:1, the angel with the little scroll comes down from heaven in a cloud with a rainbow over his head, and face like the sun. When we discussed chapter 10, we decided this angelic appearance was likely a Christophany–an appearance of Jesus in angelic form. On this occasion, the glorious radiance is said to be the angel’s; it’s not derived from the Lord. We know the Lamb has glory, as we have seen a number of times (see Revelation 4:9, 11; 5:13; 7:12, etc.). Also, at his transfiguration, Jesus’s clothes became radiant, reflecting his glory (Mark 9:12-13). When the angels appeared to the shepherds at Jesus’s birth, it was God’s glory that shone around them–not the angel’s glory, but the reflected glory of God (Luke 2:9). It’s significant, therefore, that the radiant glory displayed here is said to be the angel’s, not indirectly the Lord’s.

Speaks with a strong voice: Usually, the voices are loud (Greek: megalē), but here the angel’s voice is strong (Greek: ischura). We’ve seen strong angels before, but not a strong voice. Could it be that this goes along with the angel’s authority–that the angel is speaking from his own innate authority, not a derived authority (see Matthew 7:29).

This angel could be just another angel. But it’s also possible that he’s another Christophany. But if the angel is Jesus, why didn’t John just say so? Why speak of him as an angel? Or why not see him as the Lamb who was slain, as he did in chapter 5? It might have seemed boastful for John to talk about seeing Jesus. After all, he didn’t name himself explicitly in his Gospel. Instead he used the roundabout phrase, “the one who Jesus loved.” Even when he describes Jesus in chapter 1, he simply calls him “one like a son of man,” even though it’s obvious who it is. John hasn’t identified Jesus by name so far, why start now, especially when he prefers to use titles and symbols and leave it up to the reader to figure it out?

The angel cries out, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” Notice the tense of the verbs–not “falling, falling” but “fallen.” To the Lord, the prophesied fall of Babylon is as good as completed. In His mind, Babylon has already fallen, so sure are His promises and irrevocable His judgments. This should encourage the persecuted church, to know that the wicked city/culture will pass away under God’s wrath with the same certainly as any of God’s promises. This same pronouncement appeared in 14:8, where it was part of a brief summary of what was going to happen and why: “Fallen fallen is Babylon the great, who made the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” It’s as if the angel is now unpacking what was meant by that statement. We also find “Fallen fallen is Babylon” in Isaiah 21:9 with reference to literal Babylon, further linking the fall of physical Babylon to the fall of spiritual Babylon, one being a foreshadowing of the other.

The angel then describes what has happened to Babylon. She has become:

A dwelling place for demons: This makes sense since in John’s vision the prostitute (Babylon) rides the beast (the false Messiah), who in turn gets its power and authority from the dragon (Satan). The idea behind “dwelling place” is that of somewhere conducive for something to live. Paul uses the same Greek word in Ephesians 2:22 when talking about how we, as God’s people, are being built up together into a dwelling place for God by His Spirit. As a body, and as individuals, we should be a place suitable to “house” the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 6:18-19 where Paul describes the Christian as the temple of the Holy Spirit). So Babylon had become a cozy home not for the Spirit of God, but for demons.

A prison for every unclean spirit, and bird, and beast: The word I translate “prison” here is the Greek word phulakē, which primarily refers to a place of confinement. The ESV translates it as “haunt,” which I question. When I think of a haunt, I think of a place that is often visited. A coffee shop might be a writer’s haunt, or the youth leader’s home the haunt of teenagers. It doesn’t carry the idea of a place of involuntary consignment. The word may have had that meaning at some time in the past, but modern translations should be most sensitive to how the translation reads to a modern ear. I could be wrong, but “haunt” doesn’t convey primarily what I understand the Greek to say.

This description of fallen Babylon alludes to Jeremiah 51: 37 and Isaiah 13:21-22, which is to be expected since this is the ultimate fulfillment of those prophecies. In Isaiah, we see desolation and destruction symbolized by the residing presence of birds and animals. Demons and the demonic are also associated with desolate places. Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, for example.

Why has this disaster befallen Babylon? Verse 3 reiterates the sin of Babylon: the nations have drunk from her immorality. They have imbibed and become addicted to all that she gives them. The kings and merchants of the world have become intimately involved with the wicked city, and she has been only too willing to corrupt them. Babylon’s influence over them was political, religious, and economic. Kings drew power and wealth from her, they gave her the adoration and devotion that belongs only to God, and merchants traded with her to their mutual benefit, growing rich from “the power of her luxury” or her “sensuality.” The Greek carries both meanings. With “luxury” or “luxurious living” comes a lifestyle that easily gives itself over to sensuality (i.e., giving pleasure to the senses, desiring more than anything to feel good). Enormous wealth affords the godless the opportunity to let others take care of their worries, leaving them to indulge in a life of pleasure.

This turns out to be the fatal delusion Babylon lived under. She saw herself as the enabler of the nations: she gave them the power, wealth, and influence to grow rich and strong. But she was only able to maintain her own power, wealth, and influence because of her intimate relations with the kings and merchants. When they rose up against her, she fell.

But the most important point to remember is that all this happened because God ordained it. He caused the kings of the earth to band together in league with the beast against Babylon. This is how He purposed to bring about her fall. Instead of raining down fire and brimstone, He instigated a rebellion from within. And this is His judgment against an evil society that leads people away from the Lord, and ensnares them by appealing to their carnal desires. He will cause it to consume itself in its own sin.

We’ll continue with verse 4 next time…