Revelation 18:1-8

1After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2With a mighty voice he shouted:
"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!
She has become a home for demons
and a haunt for every evil spirit,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
3For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries."
4Then 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;
5for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.
6Give back to her as she has given;
pay her back double for what she has done.
Mix her a double portion from her own cup.
7Give her as much torture and grief
as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
In her heart she boasts,
'I sit as queen; I am not a widow,
and I will never mourn.'
8Therefore 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.



18:1 - John sees another angel coming down from heaven, but the description indicates that we should view this messenger (the literal meaning of the word translated ‘angel’) as Jesus, Himself, as it so closely parallels John’s descriptions of Jesus in other places. He comes down from heaven (John 3:13, 31; 6:38, 58), has great authority (John 5:27; 10:18; 17:2), and the earth was illuminated by His splendor (John 1:4-5, 9, 14; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9; 12:46).

18:2 - The message given here is consistent (Rev. 14:8) and echoes the funeral dirge given by Amos against Israel in Amos 5:2. Jerusalem has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. These are both ways of saying that she had become unclean, as the word translated ‘evil’ is literally ‘unclean’. We shall see that this is in contrast to the New Jerusalem in 21:27, in which nothing unclean will ever enter into it.
18:3 - Israel was to have been the light to the world, but had become a perversion of the calling as the teacher-priest of the world. This was the reason for her destruction (cf. Rev. 14:8; 17:2, 4). All the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries that she had committed with the kings and the merchants of the world. The emphasis given to merchants is probably related to the commercial activities that had come to surround the Temple, whose corruption affected the spiritual life of the entire nation. The Temple was the core of life for Israel and if the core is rotten, the fruit is worthless.

18:4-5 - Another voice calls to 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 (cf. Heb. 10:19-39; 12:15-29; 13:10-14); for her sins are piled up to heaven (cf. Gen. 19:13; 2 Chron. 28:9; Ezra 9:6; Jer. 51:9; Jon 1:2). This was a large part of the message to the early church, the call to separate from the old, corrupt ways and align themselves with the Church (cf. Acts 2:37-40; 3:19-26; 4:8-12; 5:27-32). The Jews had tasted of the age to come but had fallen away. It would be impossible to turn back to the old ways and still receive forgiveness (Heb. 6:4-8). Salvation could only come through Christ and the Church. The sins of this generation had piled up and filled the measure of guilt, as Jesus had said (Matt. 23:32-35). The persecutors were about to suffer destruction at God’s hands, the Church’s redemption was almost at hand (Luke 21:28, 31), and the new Temple was about to be fully established.

18:6-8 - Christ, as the righteous judge, demands full restitution: Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup (cf. Jer. 50:15, 29; Ps. 137:8; Isa. 40:2). Restitution of double was the normal biblical standard (Ex. 22:4, 7).

This torture and grief will equal the amount of glory and luxury she gave herself. The reason is her pride and self-exaltation: In her heart she boasts, I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn. This text is based on God’s judgment against Babylon (Isa. 47:6-11) for her treatment of the Covenant people. Israel had committed the same crime that Eve had in committing fornication with the Dragon and contradicting God’s words that He "is the Lord; and there is no Savior besides Me" (Isa. 43:11). Because of this, 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. The Day of the Lord would come upon Israel, bringing her destruction quickly (1 Thess. 5:2-3). The term ‘day" does not indicate a specific duration of time, but rather, indicates the relative suddenness of the judgment.