The Destruction of Babylon

¹After these things, I saw another angel coming from the heavenly realm with great authority, and the earth was flooded with the brilliance of his splendor.[#18:1 This mighty angel is clearly the Lord Jesus Christ. (1) The symbol of an angel stands for Jesus, the Messenger who is the Word of God. (2) Jesus frequently is described as the One who came down from heaven. (3) Jesus Christ has power and authority above all others. (4) He floods the earth with the brilliance of his splendor. No heavenly being is capable of drenching the earth with glory but the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the same “angel” of Rev. 10:1–2.]

²He shouted out with a thunderous voice:

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!

She has become a demonic dwelling place,

a prison for every unclean spirit, unclean bird,

and every unclean, detestable beast.

³All the nations have drunk[#18:3 Or “have fallen because of the wine of her wrath.”]

of the wine of her immoral passion,

and the kings of the earth

have committed fornication with her,

and merchants of the earth have grown wealthy

because of her power and luxury.”

⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven saying:

“My people, come out from her

so that you don’t participate in her sins

and have no share with her in her plagues,

⁵because her sins are heaped as high as heaven[#18:5 Or “her sins have touched the heaven.”]

and God has remembered her vileness.

⁶So repay to her double the same treatment

that she has treated others with—

pay her back double for all her deeds

and make her drink twice the brew she gave to others!

⁷With the same measure she exalted herself

and lived luxuriously,

give her that measure of torment and grief,

because she said in her heart,

‘I am no widow; I rule as a queen!

I will never experience grief.’

⁸Therefore, her plagues will fall on her in one day—

disease, famine and mourning.

She will be burned with fire.

For mighty is the Lord God who judges her!”

⁹The kings of the earth who fornicated with her and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of the fire that burns her up.

¹⁰And they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, saying:

“Oh no! You who were once

the great and powerful city Babylon,

now in one hour your complete devastation has come!”

¹¹The earth’s merchants weep and mourn for her because no one buys their merchandise anymore:[#18:11 Or “ship’s cargo.”]

¹²their gold, silver, jewels, and pearls, their fine linen, purple cloth, silk, and scarlet cloth, all kinds of things made from expensive wood, ivory, bronze, iron, and marble,[#18:12 Or “citron wood.”]

¹³quantities of the finest cinnamon, spice, incense, frankincense, and myrrh, wine, olive oil, wheat, and the finest flour, sheep, cattle, horses, and their four-wheeled carriages, and the trafficking of the bodies and souls of people.

¹⁴And they will say:

¹⁵Those who sold these things and grew wealthy through their business with her will stand far off, terrified over her torment. They will weep and mourn, saying:

¹⁶“How horrible!

The great city that once clothed herself

with fine linen and purple and scarlet cloth

glittering with gold, with jewels and with pearls—

¹⁷in one brief moment such vast wealth is now laid waste!”

Every ship’s captain and his crew, every seafarer and mariner, watched from far away

¹⁸and cried out as they saw her go up in flames:

“What city was ever like the great city Babylon ?”

¹⁹As a sign of their dismay , they threw dust on their heads

and shouted with sobs and grief:

“How horrible, so horrible, O great city Babylon!

For in one moment you suffered such destruction—

you who once made the merchants on the sea

so very wealthy.

²⁰Rejoice over her, O heaven

You apostles and prophets and holy believers, rejoice!

For on your behalf

God pronounced the judgment against her

that she wanted to bring upon you!”

²¹Then a mighty angel took up a stone, like a huge millstone, and threw it into the sea, saying:

“With this kind of sudden violence, the great city Babylon

will be thrown down and exist no more.

²²The music of harps, minstrels, flutes, and trumpets[#18:22 Or “the sound of harpists, minstrels, flutists, and trumpeters.”]

will never grace your city again.

No artisan of any trade will ever be found in you again,

and the noise of factories falls silent.

²³The light of a lamp will never shine in you again,

Nor will the joyous laughter of a wedding be heard in you.

Your merchants were once the tycoons of the world,

But you deceived all the nations by your sorcery.

²⁴For the bloodstains of the holy believers and the prophets

and all who were slaughtered were all over you!”