Revelation Chapter Eighteen

Revelation 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

In this chapter we will view the destruction of Babylon from a different perspective; a recapitulation, if you will. We must remain mindful that this “Babylon” is symbolic for the kingdom and city of the unholy trinity of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet. It is not the physical, historic Babylon, which was conquered in the sixth century BC by the Medes and Persians (see Jer 51:11), and which lies in ruins today in modern Iraq.

Where the Scripture says “after these things” it refers to the things that John observed beginning in chapter twelve where many tribulations and war in heaven began. Those things include the vials of the wrath of God and all the things that happened beginning in chapter twelve and continued through chapter seventeen. In chapter twelve we observed the Dragon making war with believers.

In Chapter thirteen we saw the tribulation of the two beasts, that is, the tribulation of the Antichrist and the False Prophet brought against believers. The first beast, which John tells us is the mysterious Babylon (KJV: Mystery Babylon), is both the kingdom or empire of Antichrist and the Antichrist himself. The king and his kingdom are one.

Adolph Hitler is a good example. He was the supreme leader of the Third Reich. The German word, reich, means empire. When the world referred to the Third Reich they did actually not say the words, “the Third Reich;” they simply said “Hitler.” Hitler and the Third Reich were considered as one. On the same line of thought, Hitler and his Germany were also synonymous The same applies to the Beast, which is the kingdom or empire of the Antichrist as well as the Antichrist himself; they are considered as one entity. When the Scripture mentions worshipping the beast, it refers to either his kingdom, or the Antichrist.

In Chapter fourteen we witnessed the harvest of believers and the vintage of the wicked. We also saw the 144,000 standing with Christ on Mount Zion. We read of the angel crying that Babylon had fallen and saw those that worshipped the beast tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.

Chapter fifteen opened with the angels having the seven plagues and the wrath of God. It closed with all the saved in Heaven standing on or before the glassy sea, singing the song of Moses and the temple in Heaven filled with the shekinah glory of God. Chapter sixteen shows us the seven bowls of God’s wrath poured out on the enemies of God. Finally, in chapter seventeen, John began to describe the great whore upon the scarlet Beast, the mysterious Babylon the Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth, which was fallen.

Here in Chapter 18, the beast is destroyed both from outside and inside forces. The mighty angel that came down from heaven now proclaims this to all who may hear. Every one of these events mentioned here in verse two have been prophesied specifically by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. Other Prophets also wrote about these things. John makes use of their imagery to explain what he sees. See Isa 13:20-22, 14:23, 21:8, 34:11-15, Jer 50:39-40, 51:1-64.

The Scriptures ascribe the negative attributes of ancient Babylon to many places. For example, Jerusalem is called Sodom and Gomorrah and Babylon in places by the prophets. Those names signified the idolatry and hostility against God by the people of Israel.

Original Babylon was a great kingdom. She was called the glory of Kingdoms by Isaiah. She was the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream statue; she was the most powerful nation in the region at one time; she was rich and respected; the fabled hanging gardens were attributed to her.

The beast and the whore, which are the Antichrist and his kingdom, are able to mimic the splendor of original Babylon for a while, but will not be able to hold on to that glory because of God’s wrath, which causes internal troubles. The next few verses detail the fall of the beast and what the people of the world think about it.

Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

We find the term Babylon is fallen in several Old Testament Scriptures: Isa 21:9; Jer 51:8, 44 & 49.

The historical city of Babylon was originally established approximately in the nineteenth century BC. Through the centuries it was conquered several times and destroyed and rebuilt several times. Its golden period was during the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. During the rule of Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, the Medo Persians conquered the city and ruled over it until Alexander the Great conquered it. Over the years it declined in use and eventually fell into ruins during the Islamic period. The complete account of historical Babylon and its successes and failures is readily available elsewhere. That complete study is not essential to our study.

Isaiah wrote about fall of Babylon when the Medes and Persians took the city and destroyed her idols. It was then that God told His people Israel that they were freed from the bondage in Babylon. Jeremiah, wrote about the same subject, including the removal of all the vessels and artifacts of Bel, the main god of the Babylonians (Jer 51:44).

John the revelator recalls those images of the destruction of ancient Babylon recorded in the Scriptures in his description of what he sees happening to the city and kingdom of Antichrist or the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet.

We note that the habitation of Devils and foul spirits is a reference to cities that have fallen because of their vice, sin, or hatred and persecution of God’s people. Unclean and hateful birds are a metaphor of those demons and foul spirits and are said to roam in those destroyed cities (Isa 13:20-22; 34:11-15; Jer 50:39-40, 51:37). Such statements are indications of uninhabited and ruined cities where wild animals roam and are said to be places inhabited by demons, which are foul spirits.

Revelation 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

Fornication usually brings to mind sexual infidelity. It is used in this case as a metaphor for idolatry, which includes worshipping things, spirits, and people besides God. Fornication also includes being “unequally yoked with unbelievers” (2 Cor 6:14), where Paul questions, “For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or, what fellowship has light with darkness?” There are many verses in the Law and Prophets that warn against such unequal associations with evil, evil people, and evil entities. For examples, see Exo 34:16; Deut 7:2-3; Neh 13:23; Mal 2:11.

This echoes Rev 14:8 and Rev 17:2. See the notes there. There the inhabitants of earth were drunk with the wine of her fornication. (The future evil Babylon is personified as a woman). In other words, she tempted them with wealth, pleasures, and delicacies. Some of those pleasures are good and unharmful, but most are depraved and perverted pleasures. She entices them with nearly unlimited power; power over slaves, and men’s souls. This is the kind of power that corrupts absolutely. All the delicacies, such as unlimited riches—with the ability to purchase and own anything the world offers, including human beings— were alluring and ultimately addicting.

This is indicative of the world’s current love affair with materialism. For many, if not most, folks in the west, this is all about self, self-gratification, and the search for instantaneous fulfilment apart from God, which is idolatry. The Antichrist Beast will take full advantage of those weaknesses and most will fall for his temptations through the use of the abundance of Babylon’s allurements.

The nations (Greek, εθνος, ethnos) here are those that have no covenant relationship with God. The Hebrew word for nations, (גּוי, goy) also means Gentiles. In the old covenant, Gentiles are those that are outside of God’s will and do not know Him, in other words, they are not Jews. Prior to the death and resurrection of Christ, the world consisted of Jews, who were God’s people, and Gentiles who were not. Anyone that was not a Jew was a Gentile. In Scripture, in the new covenant, God’s people are believers in Christ (including Jewish and Gentile believers), and those that are not believers are simply the nations or ethnos. In other words, there are two classes of people in the world, the saved and the condemned. See John 3:16,17,18,19.

Becoming drunk with the wine of her fornication indicates that the nations become addicted to her wealth and her delicacies to the point that they cannot do without them. Becoming drunk with the wine of the wrath of her fornication tells us they will also participate with her when God’s wrath is poured out on her. Their addiction is so strong that they will follow her, live with her, and die with her. Like drug addicts seeking that next high will do almost to get it, those intoxicated with her merchandise will follow Babylon to annihilation.

All worshipped the beast (Rev 13:12), and his image (Rev 13:15), at the behest of the false prophet (Rev 13:12; 16:13), thus were committing adultery with her, that is worshipping the beast and her idols of wealth, pleasure, gods, and delicacies with her.

This kingdom will be a very wealthy one. It will make many rich and will be full of wealth, luxury, and vice. These are the abundant delicacies. One can think of many places in the world that have these enticements. Yet none will be as alluring or as abundant as mysterious end-time Babylon. The Scripture gives a list of those delicacies in Rev 18:12-13.

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

“Come out of her, my peoples” is a direct quote from Jeremiah 51:45, when God was calling His people Israel out of ancient Babylon in order to avoid the fierce wrath of God upon that city. Not all Jews that heard that call accepted it—those that had faith in God and were willing to do his will. History tells us that some remained behind (compare Ezr 1:5).

God’s people will be called out of this sinful world because even the very elect might be deceived. With no opposition to it, perversion will reign supreme. That is just like in Sodom and Gomorrah and just like in today’s culture. True evil will be considered good and true good or righteousness will be considered evil. Most will worship the created instead of the Creator (Rom 1:25). This verse verifies that if one partakes of her sins, then one will also participate in her plagues. Only those that believe in Christ will escape that fate.

Revelation 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

In Genesis 19:13 The angels evacuating Lot and his family from Sodom said, “For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.” The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah had reached to heaven and come before the face of God, just like they will from the future Babylon, which will also be destroyed. They did not repent and four of the five cities of the plain, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, were destroyed with fire and brimstone (Gen 19:24-29). Zoar, the fifth city of the plain, was spared because of the presence of Lot, a righteous man (Gen10:21-22; 2 Pet 2:7).

We find parallels of this in Ezra, where God’s people that returned to the Promised Land with Ezra had intermarried with the idolatrous peoples surrounding them (Eze 8:1). Ezra prayed that their iniquities had “grown up unto the heavens” (Ezr 9:6). And, in the book of Jonah, we read that the wickedness of the Ninevites had come up before God (Jon 1:2).

When Ezra prayed, a “great congregation” assembled out of Israel repented returned to God (Ezra 10:1-3). When Jonah reluctantly preached to the Ninevites that unless they repented, Nineveh would be overthrown in forty days, they put on sack cloth, sat in ashes, proclaimed a fast, and turned from their evil ways (Jon 3:6-10). God forgave them.

Sins reaching unto heaven in the Scripture are an indication that God will shortly react to those sins in judgment. That is exactly what is happening here. Here, “her sins have reached up to heaven” tells us that God is at that very moment judging the sins of the Whore of Babylon, which is the kingdom of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet.

Similarly, when the Scriptures state that God has remembered her iniquities, it does not in the least imply that God actually forgot the iniquities. No, it tells us that God is now taking her notorious sins into account and the time has arrived for His judgment to come against her. Up to that point God has allowed her to continue in her sins, but no more. God does not forget. This is an anthropomorphism, or attributing human behavior to God, which helps us to better understand the things and actions of God.

We see from these examples, that the righteous, that is, those that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified and resurrected, will be saved. They are saved, not by their works, but by the grace of God through their faith in Him (Eph 2:8,9).

Revelation 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

The underlying Greek word translated “filled” here actually denotes mixed. While the KJV says she filled her cup with abominations, the majority of translations, including some older and some later versions, state something similar to “the cup that she has ‘mixed'” or a synonym of ‘mixed.’ What is mixed in her cup? The abominations and filthiness of her fornications or idolatries (Rev 17:5), the abundance of her delicacies (Rev 18: KJV), or her many sins that have reached unto Heaven (Rev 18:5). She is to receive a double cup of God’s wrath because of her sins that she has committed against God’s people.

God has promised a double recompense for sin and idolatry in the Law and Prophets. The literal translation of this verse reads, “Give back to her as also she has rendered and pay back double to her, twofold according to the works of her.“

We see in the Law that double restitution is required from those who cause criminal loss of the property of others (Exo 22:4,5,6,7,8,9). The Prophets also affirm this (Isa 40:2, 61:7; Jer 16:18,17:18; Zec 9:12). Here that applies to the cup of the sins she has committed against God’s people, which consist of both Jews and Gentiles that have faith in Jesus Christ.

Revelation 18:7-8 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. (8) Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

Isaiah wrote of the fall of Babylon in Isa 47:7-15; John is loosely quoting Isaiah from the Septuagint.

Isa 47:7-9 ESV You said, “I shall be mistress forever,¹” so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end. (8) Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children”: (9) These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments.

Mistress here in Isaiah is gebereth, the feminine of master, similar to gibbor (“mighty men”- Gen6:4) and Baal; it also means queen. The LXX translates it to αρχουσα (arkousa), female ruler or queen, hence John terms her a queen in Rev 18:7.

Revelation 18:9-10 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, {10} Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

These are the kings of the earth that had a good relationship with the beast. These are not the ten kings of verse 16. These kings will be grieved that Babylon is fallen because they received their livelihood from her. With her gone, they are without a leader and their Gross Domestic Product will be nonexistent. (Joel 1:15, Amos 5:16)

They will have depended on her for their wealth, luxury and vice. Therefore they will lament her passing. But they will not want to get into the mix. They will not come to her rescue because of their fear that they will receive the same torment as she. So, they will mourn from afar. See Num 16:32-34; Eze 26:16-18. They will be dumbfounded to see such immediate and complete destruction.

Revelation 18:11-14 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: {12} The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood², and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, {13} And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. {14} And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

See Ezekiel 27:12-36. Note the resemblance of these lists of delicacies to Bunyan’s Vanity Fair³ in his work, “Pilgrim’s Progress.”

The merchants, or traders described here are those that depend on her for their wares, their reputations, their standing among peers, their power, and their livelihood. Their greed for their success and their love of money and the power it brings are why they receive the mark of the Beast and accept her. Under control of the Beast or Antichrist, she is the major supplier of wares to the merchants of the world (Rev 13:7; 18:11). She controls the manufacturing, acquisition, and distribution of all the merchandise and no one may do business with her without the mark of the Beast (Rev 13:16,17), which means they must also worship the Beast. She controls who can purchase or sell her merchandise. She requires the worship of the Beast as a prerequisite for trading with her (Rev 13:8).

Only those with the mark of the beast and worship the beast (Rev 13:8) will be able to do business with her (Rev 13:17). They are so dependent on her that they are willing to sacrifice their eternal security in order to maintain their immoral relationship with her. They are truly drunk on the wine of their illicit relationship with her. Thus truly they are drunk with the wine of her fornication or idolatry in worshipping the beast or Antichrist and their illicit connections with her.

Revelation 18:15-16 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, {16} And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

In verse ten, we read that the kings of earth will mourn for her from afar. Here we see the merchants that did business with, and committed fornication with also mourn form afar, fearing that if they get too close they will take partake in her torments. Before her fall, when she was prosperous, they merchants and kings were all too ready to participate in the increase they might receive from her, but they are not interested in helping her in her time of need.

Reminds one of the little red hen that planted the wheat⁴. She tilled the soil, planted the seed, watered the plants, harvested the grain, ground the flour, kneaded the bread, baked the bread, and cut the bread. The other animals would not help with the work, but they were surely ready to eat the bread when it was baked. The same principle is in view here.

Revelation 18:17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off.

Again, we understand the grave loss Babylon will be to the world and how quickly she will be destroyed. We learn here that the shipmasters, shops company, traders, and sailors, like the kings and merchants of the earth, also mourn the loss of Babylon from afar, fearing that if they get too close they will take partake in her torments. Thus we have the kings of earth, the merchants of earth, and the shippers of earth all mourning her loss and fearing for themselves at the same time.

Revelation 18:18-19 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! {19} And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

This is reminiscent of other cities like Trye, Sidon, Sodom, Port Royal⁵, etc. Babylon is destroyed in a very short time. We have the same story with the shippers that we had with the kings and merchants. They participated in her glory, but mourned her passing from a far off location. A symbol of their mourning is the dust that cast on their heads. The wicked world will mourn her passing. (Eze 27:30-36).

Babylon, that great evil empire of the Dragon (Satan) at the end of the age, is destroyed in a single hour. This is figurative language. It is not a literal hour, but a very brief span of time. She is brought down by the wrath of God and the ten kings who hated her. God used the hatred of the ten kings against Babylon (Rev 17:16-17). It is time to rejoice for the final kingdom of Satan is destroyed (See Isa 47:11,14; Dan7:24-26).

Revelation 18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

We can understand that those in heaven are Saints from all time as are the apostles and prophets those that have spread the gospel and prophesied from all time.

One may recall what the Scriptures say about recompense. It can be summed up: “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom 12:19 NKJV). We are not to rejoice when our enemy stumbles and falls, for that will displease God (Pro 24:17-18). There is a difference between another making a mistake and stumbling and God avenging our enemies.

The Scripture says not to take revenge on others because God will avenge you. But the Scripture does not forbid us from rejoicing when He avenges us (Deut 32:43). In this verse, because the Beast has tormented the saints by torture, exposure, withholding sustenance ostracization, murder, separation of families, etc. we have reason to be joyful. The blood of the prophets and saints and all slain Christians was in her and she is no more (Rev 18:24).

Christians, that is, God’s people, cry, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Rev 6:10). The saints are to rejoice because “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev 11:15).

Revelation 18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

Early millstones in Israel were simply two stones that were rubbed together with the grain between them. These were the kinds used in houses. In ancient Israel basalt was used because it was wrought enough to grind the grain into flour. Millstones were sometimes roughly shaped stones in various sizes and sometimes shaped more precisely. One stone was placed upon another with the grain placed between for grinding. The top stone was moved by turning, reciprocating, etc., to grind the grain. Millstones were also used to press olives for their oil. The largest millstones were turned by beasts of burden. Stones have been found that weigh up to thousands of pounds.

Jeremiah wrote of this in 51:63-64: “And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.”

Jeremiah wrote all the disasters and calamities that were about to come upon ancient Babylon on a scroll. Those curses are written in Jeremiah 51:53-58. Jeremiah gave the scroll to Seraiah, a quartermaster to take with him to Babylon. He was to read the words out loud, likely in a public place. When he finished reading it, he was told to tie the scroll to a stone heavy enough to sink it and cast it into the Euphrates so it would never rise again. This was symbolic of the total and permanent destruction of ancient Babylon, which will never be inhabited again:

Isa 13:19-20 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

The angel casting the great stone into the sea is symbolic of the eternal end of Babylon, the Great Whore. It also looks forward to the time when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away“(Rev 21:4).

Saddam Hussein attempted to rebuild the ancient city of Babylon, and was able to reconstruct some of the buildings, including a replica of the Ishtar gate. He was unsuccessful and Isaiah’s and the Mighty Angel’s prophecy that ancient Babylon would never be inhabited remains intact. The gate, the rebuilt buildings, and the ruins of ancient Babylon are a now tourist attraction near Hillah, Iraq, but they remain uninhabited.

Revelation 18:22-23 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee. {23} And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

These are all things that bring life to us and make our lives livable. Harpers, musicians, pipers and trumpeters bring joy to life through music. They also bring praises to God in music, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. They provide us the opportunity for making melody in our hearts to the Lord. We sing those with grace in our hearts to God (Eph 1:9; Col 2:17).

Skilled workers give us things that enhance our lives. Things like the houses we live in, the dishes we eat out of, the beds we sleep in are produced by skilled men and women. The sound of millstones is the sound of prosperity and plenty. The candle shining, the voices of the bride and bridegroom are special evets that always add joy and contentment to our lives. The candle lights up our houses when it is dark outside and it is always a delight when a young couple get married. These are sounds that indicate life is ongoing (Neh 12:27; Isa 30:29; Jer 33:11).

However, though these things give joy to us as believers, they are written here as negatives. The harpers, musicians, pipers and trumpeters that bring joy to life through music will be heard no more in Babylon; No craftsperson will ever found again in her. The sound of a millstone grinding flour will never be heard in her again. No candle will ever again be lit in her. No joyous voices of bride or bridegroom will ever be heard in her again.

All of these negatives indicate the finality of the Babylon and the pagan world system she represents. They are finished. The woes of this world are over. No sounds of life will ever be heard in her again. The sinful world system of cheats, lies, sins, fornications, murders has ended eternally for her.

All of the things mentioned in these two verses were curses that were pronounced against God’s people Israel when they turned away from Him, to follow after the idols and gods of their neighbors. The prophets all pronounced judgments similar to these against Israel and Judah if they would not repent of their idolatries. These are the things that the Great Whore will no longer perceive because she will be annihilated. All these calamities will fall on her and destroy her.

Now the tables are turned on the unbelieving world, and on the Dragon, his beasts, his principalities, his powers in heavenly places, the rulers of darkness of this world, Spiritual wickedness in high places, thrones, dominions, devils, etc., etc., are all defeated in the destruction of the Whore of Babylon (Rom 8:38; Eph 2:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:15; Tit 3:1; Rev 19:2). This is indeed good news. There will never again be another kingdom or system that rebels against God.

Revelation 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

This is like a court case. All the evidence had been given. The Great Whore (Rev 17:1) is guilty of the murder of an untold number of human beings: men, women, children, babies, and unborn children that were murdered in the womb. It is a recapitulation of Rev 16:6, “For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.” That is where the seven vials of the Wrath of God are poured out on the unrighteous of earth. The Wrath of God is the reason that Babylon will be completely destroyed.

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1. According to the Cambridge Dictionary of British English, the word, “Mistress” indicates a woman in control. According to the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions, the underlying Hebrew word rendered mistress, (גְּבֶרֶת, gebereth (gei-beh’-reth) has several definitions: a Lady, a Queen, a Mistress, a Princess, etc. It is the feminine version of גְּבִיר, gebiyr (gheb-eer’), meaning master or lord. Most Bible versions render it either mistress, lady, queen, or princess. The word from the Septuagint (LXX) is ἄρχουσα (ar’-koo-sa) which can be translated queen, princess, leading lady, mistress. Here John loosely interpreted the LXX phrase, εσομαι αρχουσα (ay’-so-may ar’-koo-sa), literally “I shall be a princess”(Brenton) to mean “I sit a queen.”
2. Thyine wood: scented or aromatic wood. Thyine is the transliterated Greek inflected word θυινον, thyion, fragrant or aromatic. This is a north African aromatic evergreen tree, the Sandarac Gum Tree (Tetraclinis articulata), also known as citron wood, which the Greeks and Romans prized for ornamental use. According to our verse, it was a delicacy and likely expensive to import, as it is today.
3. See the list of  merchandise from John Bunyan’s Vanity fair in the notes on Revelation chapter eight, verse nine.
4. The Little Red Hen, a parable for children published by Mary Mapes Dodge in 1874
5. Port Royal is a small town located in Jamaica that was at one time the largest and richest city on the Caribbean area. It was the center of commerce there. It was a town of vulgar displays of wealth and nonexistent morality. Similar to Mystery Babylon, it was a home to privateers and pirates, which were comparable to Babylon’s merchants. It was suddenly and quickly destroyed in the Seventeenth Century by a tsunami.