Revelation of John 18 · The Lantern

Babylon Is Fallen

After these things I saw another angel descending out of heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated from his glory.

And he cried out in a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a habitation of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean bird, and a prison of every unclean and hated beast,

because of the wine of the rage of her sexual immorality all the nations have drunk, and the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth were enriched through the power of her luxury.”

[The kings of the earth fornicated] with each other. For it would be impossible for all kings to commit fornication with a single harlot. Rather, since the evil and profligate, who are members of the harlot, corrupt each other, they are said to commit fornication with the harlot, that is, by a sinful manner of life.

This passage refers to three kinds of sins, and it also mentions the same number of those persons who transgress by them. It refers to avarice, which according to the apostle is also called a "servitude of idols"; licentiousness by the word fornication; and gluttony in that which pleases.

And the merchants of the earth have become rich through the power of her luxury. Those who are called rich in sins exchange their souls in an unhappy trade for temporal abundance. For the excess of luxury makes them poor rather than rich.

And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out, my people, from her, so that you may not have fellowship in her sins, and so that you may not receive of her plagues;

for her sins were heaped as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

Give back to her as she also has rendered, and pay back double the twofold according to her works. In the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.

As much as she has glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so much torment and misery give to her, because in her heart she says that ‘I sit as a queen, and I am not a widow, and I shall certainly not see mourning.’

Because of this in one day her plagues will come — death and misery and famine — and she will be burned up with fire, because mighty is the Lord God, the one having judged her.

Lament over Babylon

And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning,

With this repentance, the kings are not bewailing the evil of wealth, because they sinned with [the harlot]. Rather, they recognize that they are losing the prosperity of the world through which they became subject to its pleasures.

We think that in this passage the "kings" refer to the rulers, as the psalmist said concerning Jerusalem, "Behold, her kings have assembled." It says that those who committed fornication in her against the divine commandments will weep, since they see or hear of her burning and her desolation, and they are thoroughly terrified at the sudden change that had taken place in such a…

And the kings of the earth will weep and lament for her, etc. The weeping of the kings, merchants, and sailors of Babylon can be understood in two ways: either in the day of judgment, when all the glory of the world perishes, and the wicked are left only with the memories of their past life, saying: What has our pride profited us?

standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’

And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any longer:

cargo of gold and of silver and of precious stone and of pearls, and of fine linen and of purple cloth and of silk and of scarlet, and all citron wood and every article of ivory and every article of most precious wood and of bronze and of iron and of marble,

and cinnamon and spice and incense and myrrh and frankincense, and wine and oil and finest flour and wheat, and cattle and sheep, and of horses and of chariots, and of slaves, and souls of men.

And the ripe fruit of your soul’s desire has departed from you, and all the sumptuous things and the splendid things were destroyed from you, and they will certainly not find them any longer.

The merchants of these things, who were enriched from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,

Whenever the Spirit says that they were made rich from her, he is indicating the abundance of their sins.… Can a city be dressed in fine linen and purple, rather than people? They lament for themselves, since they are despoiled of those riches mentioned here.… Can all those who are merchants and sailors and who work upon the sea be present to see the burning of a single city?

He leads before our eyes the sufferings of this Babylon, and through the laments made over her he depicts the greatness of her misfortune that she, who previously boasted of her royal majesty, will suffer.… He speaks figuratively of the present life as a "sea," since it is heaving with waves.

Those who became rich by her will stand afar off. Wherever the Spirit speaks of those made rich by her, it signifies the riches of sins. For lower down, where it is the voice of the unjust saying: Woe, woe, that great city, in which all who had ships at sea were made rich, the riches of things are understood.

saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, which was clothed with fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and with precious stone and with pearl!

Since in one hour so great wealth has been brought to desolation.’ And every shipmaster and everyone sailing to a place, and sailors and as many as trade by the sea, stood at a distance

and were crying out, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like the great city?’

And they cast dust upon their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all those having ships in the sea were enriched through her wealth! Since in one hour she has been desolated.’

Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and you apostles and you prophets, because God has judged your judgment against her.”

The Doom of Babylon

And one mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence will Babylon the great city be cast down, and will certainly not be found any longer.

Babylon is likened to a great millstone which is thrown down, for the revolving of times, as though it were a millstone, grinds down those who love the world, and it sends them in circles. Of these the Scriptures say, "The wicked walk in a circle."

Just as a millstone sinks with force into the sea, so also the destruction of this Babylon will be sudden, so that afterward no trace of her will be found. The absence of harpers, minstrels and the rest is an indication of this.

And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying: With this violence shall Babylon be thrown down. Or (as another edition says): Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be cast down. The city of the world, due to the weight of sins and error, is compared to an unstable millstone. For the wicked walk in a circle.

And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters will certainly not be heard in you any longer, and any craftsman of any craft will certainly not be found in you any longer, and the sound of a millstone will certainly not be heard in you any longer,

and the light of a lamp will certainly not shine in you any longer, and the voice of a bridegroom and a bride will certainly not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.

And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all those slain on the earth.”

Revelation of John18

Babylon Is Fallen

Lament over Babylon

The Doom of Babylon