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Waves upon the shore

Babylon the Great and the Cup of God's Wrath

so that we can make a name for ourselves ...

The City of Babylon stood as a story of wealth and prosperity, but ultimately a symbol of rebellion.

What is Babylon the Great in Revelation?

Babylon the Great in Revelation represents the final global system of rebellion against God—a union of false religion, political power, and economic influence that deceives the nations and persecutes the saints. Revelation 17–18 describes this system as a “great city” that intoxicates kings, enriches merchants, and ultimately receives the cup filled with the wine of God’s wrath (Revelation 16:19).

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The roots of this rebellion trace back to the Tower of Babel, where humanity first sought to “make a name for ourselves” apart from God (Genesis 11:4). The prophet Zechariah later saw a vision in which a woman called “Wickedness” was confined inside a commercial basket (ephah) and transported to Babylon, where a house would be prepared for it (Zechariah 5:5–11). This suggests that the power of lawlessness is already at work but restrained until the appointed time (2 Thessalonians 2:6–7).

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In Revelation this restrained rebellion reaches its final form in the woman called “Babylon the Great” (Revelation 17:5). The nations first drink the wine of her corruption (Revelation 17:2), but in the end Babylon receives the cup of God’s wrath as the winepress of divine judgment is fulfilled (Revelation 14:19–20).

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​Ultimately, the story of Babylon contrasts two names: humanity seeking to make its own name at Babel, and God giving His name to those who belong to Him.

BABYLON'S ORIGIN

Babel is the origin story for Babylon where rebellion and wickedness against God was initiated by Nimrod in Genesis 10-11.

The beginnings of Babylon start with Nimrod, a descendant from Cush, son of Ham, son of Noah.

  • Genesis 10:1, 6-10 "1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood... 6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city."

  • "father" - Hebrew "yalad" can mean "from the lineage or descendant of" since Nimrod is listed as one the direct sons of Cush in verse 6.

  • "Nimrod" s sometimes associated with the Akkadian or Babylonian expression Nu-marad, which some scholars interpret as “Man of Marad.” Marad was a smaller city-state in southern Mesopotamia whose chief deity was Lugal-Marada, sometimes identified with or associated with Ninurta, a major Mesopotamian warrior-god connected with kingship, hunting, and warfare.

    • In Hebrew, the root מרד (marad) means “to rebel.” This linguistic association fits the biblical portrayal of Nimrod as a figure connected with rebellion against God. Genesis presents Nimrod as the founder of the earliest imperial centers in Mesopotamia.

      • Genesis 10:8–10 “Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord… The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar.”

    • The rebellion associated with Nimrod’s kingdom becomes clearer in the account of the Tower of Babel, where humanity deliberately rejects God’s command to spread across the earth.

      • Genesis 11:4 “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

      • Rather than bearing the name of God, humanity attempts to establish its own name and authority, forming the first organized civilization centered on human pride and defiance of God’s command.

    • Some linguistic studies also connect the name Nimrod with Namra-uddu, which has been interpreted as a “shining” or star-related title in Mesopotamian contexts. While the connection is debated, it is notable that astral religion and star worship became central elements of Babylonian religion.

    • Biblically, fallen celestial imagery is used to describe rebellion against God.

      • Isaiah 14:12 “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!”

      • This imagery parallels the broader biblical theme of rebellious powers associated with the heavens.

    • The prophets also condemn Israel when it adopted astral worship from surrounding nations, particularly Babylon.

      • Amos 5:26 “You have lifted up the shrine of your king and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.”

        • The reference to the “star of your god” reflects the widespread practice of astral worship in the ancient Near East, where celestial bodies were associated with divine powers.

        • Some modern writers have speculated that this “star” might correspond to later hexagram symbolism sometimes associated with Kabbalah (this Jewish mysticism was developed outside the biblical covenantal practices described in the Torah). However, there is no biblical or historical evidence that the hexagram (later called the Star of David) was used by King David or ancient Israel as a covenant symbol (such as the ark of the covenant or its contents). 

        • The hexagram appears much later in history and is not connected to the Mosaic covenant or the worship practices described in the Torah.

    • The Mosaic law specifically warns Israel against practices associated with divination, astrology, and occult symbolism.

      • Deuteronomy 18:10–12 “Let no one be found among you who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft… Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.”

      • For this reason, mystical traditions that incorporate cosmological diagrams, magical symbols, or astrological interpretations developed outside the covenantal framework given to Israel at Sinai.

      • Symbols such as the hexagram later appear in various mystical and esoteric traditions, including Kabbalah, witchcraft texts, and later Freemasonry. However, these uses arise many centuries after the biblical period and should not be confused with the religious symbols of ancient Israel.

    • The biblical narrative instead presents Babylon as the origin of organized human rebellion against God, combining political power, religious deception, and spiritual corruption—patterns that reappear in the prophetic warnings concerning “Babylon the Great” in Revelation.

  • "mighty warrior" Hebrew root word "gabar" also means "act irreverently or conduct with arrogance"

  • "might hunter" Hebrew root word "tsud" also means "to lie in waiting, hunt down the afflicted or slaughter"

    • Some suggest the Nimrod is Sargon I or Sargon the Great or Sargon the Akkadian

      • both began their rule in Babylonia

      • both conquered land in Assyria

      • ​both lived around 100 years after the flood event in 2458 BC

        • Pelag, the great-great-great-great grandson of Noah, whose name means "division" is thought to have lived during the Tower of Babel event, lived between 2357-2118 BC.

          • Genesis 10:25 "Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan."

        • Sargon I, King of Akkadian Empire, who ruled from 2334-2279 BC.

  • "before the Lord" - Hebrew "lifnei" root word "panah" can mean "against or confronting"

  • "Babylon" was his first city and "flagship" of his territory Babylonia (a.k.a. the plains of Shinar). God sovereignly used Babylon as an instrument of judgment and temporarily granted it imperial dominion, but Babylon remained accountable for its pride, cruelty, and idolatry.

    • Babylonia in Greek means "land between rivers", as in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

    • Shinar is thought to be a non-Hebrew word, but could be drawn from the Hebrew "nahar" meaning "river"

      • Genesis 24:10 "Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim [Aram of the two rivers] and made his way to the town of Nahor."

      • Psalm 137:1 "By the rivers ["naharovt"] of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion."

  • "From that land he went to Assyria" - Nimrod conquered lands in the neighboring territory of Assyria.

  • "great city" is referencing Nineveh.  Nineveh showed similar continuity of wickedness in Assyria. 

    • Jonah 1:1-3 "1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. 3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”

    • Jonah 3:2-3 " 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it."

    • God gave the people of Nineveh the opportunity to repent. They did repent with the message of Jonah [est. 730 BC] but fell into decline and their sins, like Sodom and Gomorrah, were a stench to God. It fell in 612 BC.

      • Nahum 1:6-11 " The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, 8 but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. 9 Whatever they plot against the Lord he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time. 10 They will be entangled among thorns and drunk from their wine; they will be consumed like dry stubble. 11 From you, Nineveh, has one come forth who plots evil against the Lord and devises wicked plans."

  • "Shinar" is the location of the Tower of Babel (considered to be called "Etemenanki, the 'House of the foundation of heaven on earth'", a ziggurat dedicated to the god Marduk in Babylon).

    • ​Genesis 11:1 "Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there."

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Babylon once had the blessing of God; but her wickedness would not stop.

  • Daniel 2:37-38 "37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings [Nebuchadnezzar]. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold."

  • Jeremiah 51:7 "Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad."​

  • ​Revelation 17:4 "... She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.

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ZECHARIAH 5

Woman representing wickedness confined in the ephah basket and carried to Babylon in Zechariah 5:5–11

Biblical text possibly illustrates a picture that this wickedness and rebellion at work was supernaturally suppressed according to God's purposes.

  • Zechariah 5:5-15 "5 Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.” 6 I asked, “What is it?” He replied, “It is a basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.” 7 Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! 8 He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it. 9 Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth. 10 “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me. 11 He replied, “To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”

    • ​​​"woman in the basket" - same woman that is grew into and is depicted as Babylon the Great

      • Revelation 17:4 "​The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries."

      • Revelation 18:5 "for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes."

    • "basket" - Hebrew "ephah" is used for measurement in commerce and religion.  Commerce will be intermingled with religion and government during the Great Tribulation and how Babylon the Great will become influential and powerful while working with the Anti-Christ.

      • Ezekiel 45:9-17 "9 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have gone far enough, princes of Israel! Give up your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 10 You are to use accurate scales, an accurate ephah and an accurate bath. 11 The ephah and the bath are to be the same size, the bath containing a tenth of a homer and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer is to be the standard measure for both. 12 The shekel is to consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina.13 “‘This is the special gift you are to offer: a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat and a sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley.

      • Revelation 18:2-3 " 2 With a mighty voice he shouted: “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. 3 For 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.”

        • "committed adultery" - apostate religion; rejection of God; persecution of saints; mark of the beast.

        • "excessive luxuries" - commerce; love of money; mark of the beast to buy or sell

    • "lead cover" - suppressed by the Holy Spirit until the appointed time.

      • 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 "6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way."

    • "When the house is ready" - Babylon the Great City

      • Revelation 17:18 "The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

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BABYLON SYSTEM IN REVELATION

The Great Prostitute is Babylon the Great

Revelation 17:1 "One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters.

  • "great prostitute" - opposite of the bride of Christ who is faithful

    • 2 Corinthians 11:2 "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him."

    • Ephesians 5:25-27 "25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

    • Revelation 19:7-8 "7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)"

  • "sits by" - enthroned over / seated upon / exercising influence over

    • Psalm 1:1 "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,"

    • Proverbs 9:7-8 "7 Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. 8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you."

  • "many waters" - the nations of the world

    • Revelation 17:15 "Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages."

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Revelation 17:2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

  • "kings" and "inhabitants" - global influence

  • "intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries" - religious doctrine and wicked influence are consumed in excess because God will give them over to their desires

    • Genesis 3:6 "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

    • Romans 1:28 "Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done."

    • Romans 8:5-8 "5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God."

    • 2 Thessalonians 2:7-11 "7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie."

    • 1 John 2:16 "For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world."

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Revelation 17:3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

  • "woman" - Great City of apostate religion and commerce

  • "sitting on" - a position of importance and influence over global governments; appears to be in control or steering the beast, but can only go as far the the beast will allow her.

    • Revelation 17:16 "The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire."

  • "scarlet beast" - the Anti-Christ (beast out of the sea); control of global governments

    • Revelation 13:1 "The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name."

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Revelation 17:4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.

  • "dressed" - her ways will appeal to those who live in the flesh, but her heart is full of murder and lies.

    • 1 Peter 3:3-4 "3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight."

  • "golden cup in her hand" - the outside of the cup looks the part of important and sacred, but the contents of the cup reflect the truth of her deception.

    • Jeremiah 51:7 "Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad."

    • Matthew 23:25-29 " 25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. 29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous."

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Revelation 17:5 The name written on her forehead : "MYSTERY - BABYLON THE GREAT - THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" 

  • "mystery" - revelation of something previously unknown

  • "Babylon the Great" - subject of the mystery; Babylon the Great is presented as a “great city,” but she also represents the concentrated final form of the world’s anti-God religious, political, and economic order.

  • "mother of prostitutes" - like false prophets turn the wicked away from God, all those who reject God are her children and unfaithful to God.

    • Judges 2:17 "Yet they [Israelites] would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands."

    • Isaiah 47:1 "Go down, sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, queen city of the Babylonians. No more will you be called tender or delicate."

    • Jeremiah 3:8-9 "8 I gave faithless Israel [Northern 10 tribes] her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah [Southern 2 tribes] had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood."

  • "mother of the abominations of the earth" - the detestable idols and practices of her worshipers are the worst in history; she is the birther and nurturer of all wickedness the spreads.

    • Deuteronomy 7:25-26 "25 The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

    • Proverbs 6:16-19 "16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community."

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Revelation 17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished."

  • "drunk with the blood" - a blood lust to kill the saints; an overabundance of blood will be spilled.

    • Deuteronomy 32:42 "I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”​

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THE MYSTERY OF BABYLON AND THE BEAST

The woman rides upon the beast

Revelation 17:7 "Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns."

  • "Why are you astonished?" - not only from the horrible images before him but also from the blasphemous names written on the beast against God.

    • Leviticus 24:16 "anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death."

    • Mark 3:29 "but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

  • "I will explain" - This is one of the few places in Revelation where the symbolism is directly interpreted by an angel, making the following explanation critical for understanding the identity of the beast, the woman, and the kingdoms involved.

  • "she rides" - they co-exist for as long as she is useful to the beast.

 

Revelation 17:8 "The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come."

  • "the beast you saw" - Greek thērion means wild animal (the Anti-Christ) which cannot be tamed.

    • Daniel 7 - politician and military leader

    • Daniel 11 - economic leader

  • The description “once was, now is not, and yet will come” describes the rise, apparent death, and reappearance of the beast. Unlike God, whose title “who was, and is, and is to come” reflects eternal existence, the beast's sequence describes a temporary historical event that deceives the world before ultimately ending in destruction.

    • "once was" - initial take-over of Anti-Christ at mid-Tribulation point

    • "now is not" - his false death (Revelation 13:13-14)

    • "yet will come" - his false resurrection

  • "out of the Abyss" - prison of demons (see Afterlife Slideshow) or perhaps he is possessed by a powerful one.

    • Luke 8:30-31 "30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss."

  • "go to its destruction" - ultimate defeat by Jesus the Messiah at his Second Coming

  • "written in" - their names stand in the category of “not written” over the whole span of history since the world’s foundation. less about proving when names were first entered into the Book of Life and more about distinguishing those who belong to God from those who follow the Beast.

  • "book of life" - a record of those who belong to God. This book is also "of the Lamb".

    • Exodus 32:32–33 " 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” 33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book." (Mosaic covenant was conditional with blessing v. curse language so this book is call the book of the living (Psalm 69:28) referring to the membership among God's covenant people)

    • Revelation 13:8 "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the creation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain." (This is the syntax order from the Greek language. Some translations, including NIV, have moved phrases that create out-of-context interpretations. See Greek Lexicon for Revelation 13:8)

  • "from the creation of the world" - this phrase modifies the word "written" and describes a period of time, not a single action that occurs at a single, specific, and instantaneous point in time before creation. It does not explicitly state the names were a) written before creation, b) pre-written at all, or c) written at the foundation of the world. Those whose faith were counted as righteousness since the beginning of the world are written in the book of life along with those who believe and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

  • "will be astonished" - Perhaps the vision of the Anti-Christ and his emergence from the Abyss will be revealed his true nature. The reference to the book of life seems to tie this recognition that their decision to have the mark of the beast excludes their name from entry into this book of life.

 

Revelation 17:9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits."

  • "seven hills" - Greek orē means hill or small mountain (Matthew 5:1). If this system has anything to do with the religion of the Roman Catholic Church, that is in Rome (Vatican City), adjacent to the Tiber River and is called "The City on Seven Hills", then the call to look very close at this description may make this connection but it is not explicitly stated. It is a false-religious system so there may be some connection other than just it being the Roman Catholic Church.

  • "sits" - position or location. 

 

Revelation 17:10 "They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while."

  • "seven kings" - another symbolic relationship with the seven heads for kingdoms. These kingdoms would have some biblical connection and at their time been considered the greatest in the world. This was also written at a time when John was in exile as punishment from Rome. So these six kingdoms connected in the Holy Bible could be:

  1. Egyptian (fallen) - Defeated by Rome

  2. Assyrian (fallen) - Defeated by Babylonian Empire

  3. Babylonian (fallen) - Defeated by Medo-Persians

  4. Medo-Persian (fallen) - Defeated by Alexander the Great (Macedonian and Grecian)

  5. Grecian (fallen) - Defeated by Rome

  6. Roman (is) - currently ruling during John's time

  7. revived Roman - other has not yet come (Daniel 2:41-43) 

  8. Kingdom of the beast (Revelation 16:10)

 

Revelation 17:11 "The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction."

  • "belongs to the seven" - The beast is described as an “eighth king” yet belonging to the seven, suggesting that the final world ruler emerges from the revived form of the seventh kingdom while also becoming its ultimate embodiment.

  • "going to his destruction"

    • 2 Thessalonians 2:3 "Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction."

    • Revelation 19:20 "But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur."

 

Revelation 17:12-13 “12 The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast."

  • "ten kings" - they are the ten toes of Daniel's statue and Four Beast Vision.

    • Daniel 2:33, 41-43 "33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay ... 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay."

    • Daniel 7:23–24 "23 “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings."

 

Revelation 17:14 "They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

  • "the Lamb will triumph" - the rock of Daniel's statue

    • Deuteronomy 10:17 "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes."

    • Psalm 136:3 "Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever."

    • Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45 "34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth ... 44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

 

Revelation 17:15 "Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages."

  • "waters" - imagery of cities that constructed by a fresh water source, like Babylon on the Euphrates River or Rome on the Tiber River.

  • "peoples, multitudes, nations and languages" - nations of the world; line repeated several times in Revelation (Revelation 5:9, 7:9, 10:11, 11:9, 13:7, 14:6); This implies that this city or place is central to religion, commerce and governance on a global scale.

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BABYLON BETRAYED

Babylon the System is betrayed by the beast and the nations in Revelation 17:16-18

Revelation 17:16-18 "16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” 

  • "bring her to ruin and leave her naked" - expose the "queen" as a "harlot"; the religious system no longer drives and sustains its worshipers within the economic and governmental systems; it is disposable since the ten kings have established their rule over their areas. Religion competed for their authority and ultimately the authority of the Anti-Christ.

    • Isaiah 47:2-3 "2 Take millstones and grind flour; take off your veil. Lift up your skirts, bare your legs, and wade through the streams. 3 Your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”

  • "eat her flesh and burn her with fire" - destroy the religious system that the global government does not need since all followers have the mark of the beast.

  • "it into their hearts" = the idea for the 10 kings to "hand over to the beast their royal authority"

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THE WINEPRESS OF JUDGMENT

Babylon the Great receiving the cup of God's wrath in Revelation 16:19 as divine judgment begins

This is a continuation from the pouring out of the final, seventh bowl in Revelation 16 (See 7th Bowl - In the Air).

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Revelation 16:19-21 "19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible."

  • "great city split" - by a great earthquake from the pouring out of the 7th Bowl.

    • Hebrews 12:25-27 "25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain."

    • Haggai 2:6-7 "6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty."

    • Isaiah 13:9-13 "9 See, the day of the Lord is coming—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. 10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. 11 I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. 12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his burning anger."

    • Isaiah 47:10-12 " 10 You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
      11 Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you. 12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror."

  • "cities of the nations collapsed" - may refer to economic collapse since all financial and commercial transactions would be controlled.

    • Revelation 13:16-17 "16 He [the False Prophet] also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name."

  • "God remembered Babylon the Great" - the stench of her wickedness had reached up to the 3rd Heaven.

    • Revelation 18:4-5 "4 Then 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; 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes."

  • "cup"

    • Isaiah 51:17, 20-21 "17 Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger. 20 Your children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the Lord, with the rebuke of your God. 21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine."

    • Psalms 75:7-8 "7 It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. 8 In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs."

    • Matthew 26:39 "Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup [of God's wrath] be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

  • "with the wine" - wrath is represented by blood or death

    • Jeremiah 25:15-16 "15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”

    • The Biblical Judgment Sequence follow the five main steps in the wine-making process:

      1. Harvest - collecting the grapes when the harvest is ripe

        • Revelation 14:17-18 "17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.”

      2. Crushing/Pressing - extracting the juice

        • Lamentations 1:15 "“The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah."

        • Isaiah 63:2–3 "Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? 3 “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger  and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing."

        • Revelation 14:19-20 "19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia."

        • Revelation 19:15 "Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty."

      3. Fermentation - adding yeast to convert alcohol (moral corruption permeating the system)

        • Matthew 16:6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

        • 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 "6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

        • Revelation 17:4 "The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.

      4. Clarifying - filtering out the dregs with particles and solids (not removed - tastes bitter). Babylon has never been purified or poured out — her corruption has remained and intensified.

        • Psalm 75:8 "In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs."

        • Isaiah 51:17 "Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger."

        • Jeremiah 48:11 “Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another—she has not gone into exile. So she tastes as she did, and her aroma is unchanged." (They were never purified through exile or judgment)

        • Romans 1:28-32 "28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

        • 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 "6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet."

      5. Wineskins / Consume - the pouring out of the wine (Babylon as the container of corruption)

        • Matthew 9:17 "Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

        • Mark 2:22 "And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

        • Luke 5:37–38 "37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins."

        • Revelation 16:17 "The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'It is done!'. "

    • Babylon makes the nations drink her wine (cf. Revelation 17:2) then God makes the nations drink His wine (cf. Jeremiah 25:15)

      • Revelation 17:2 "With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

      • Jeremiah 25:15 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it."

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THE FINAL DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON

Mighty angel casting a millstone into the sea symbolizing the destruction of Babylon the Great in Revelation 18:21

Revelation 18:1-3 "1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted: “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. 3 For 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.”

  • "another angel" - archangel, like Michael

    • Daniel 10:5-6, 12-13, 20 "5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude... 12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia... 20 So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come;"

  • "Fallen, Fallen"

    • Isaiah 21:9 "Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’”

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Revelation 18:4-8 "Then 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;​ 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. 6 Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. 7 Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’ 8 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."

  • "my people" - the voice claims ownership; this must be the voice of either God the Father or Jesus Christ.

    • John 10:27-28 "27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand."

  • "pay her back double" - old testament restitution principle

    • Exodus 22:4,7 "4 If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double... 7 “If anyone gives a neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double."

    • Jeremiah 16:18 "I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land with the lifeless forms of their vile images and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.”

    • Jeremiah 17:18 "Let my persecutors be put to shame, but keep me from shame; let them be terrified,
      but keep me from terror. Bring on them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction."

  • "she boasts" - empty words with no power; ten kings were already in place by the authority of the Anti-Christ.  The Anti-Christ did not give her the title "queen".

    • "queen" - her pride rested in the temporary power she had over the 10 kings.  The ten kings would not share one queen and the ten kings will only endured the overreach of her power and influence until the appointed time that their loyalty to the Anti-Christ calls them to relinquish their authority to him.

      • Isaiah 47:5-9 "5 “Sit in silence, go into darkness, queen city of the Babylonians; no more will you be called queen of kingdoms. 6 I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance; I gave them into your hand, and you showed them no mercy. Even on the aged you laid a very heavy yoke. 7 You said, ‘I am forever—the eternal queen!’ But you did not consider these things or reflect on what might happen. 8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.’ 9 Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day: loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and all your potent spells."

    • "not a widow; I will never mourn" - power not transfer from any of the 10 kings by marriage, death or otherwise. She does not understand that her children are her worshippers.

  • ​"sins are piled up to heaven"

    • Genesis 6:5 "The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time."

    • Genesis 11:4 "Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

    • Genesis 18:20-21"20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

    • Jeremiah 51:52-53 "52 “But days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan. 53 Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will send destroyers against her,” declares the Lord."

    • Jonah 1:1-2 "The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

  • "consumed by fire"

    • Isaiah 47:13-15 "13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. 14 Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. These are not coals for warmth; this is not a fire to sit by. 15 
      That is all they are to you—these you have dealt with and labored with since childhood. All of them go on in their error; there is not one that can save you."

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Revelation 18:9-10 “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’ "

  • "kings" - In this reading, the ten kings first turn against the prostitute in chapter 17, dismantling the religious dimension of Babylon, while chapter 18 then describes God’s climactic judgment on Babylon as a great city and commercial center. They destroyed its religious system, but weep and mourn the understanding of their future fate.  If God disapproved of Babylon's wickedness then God cannot approve of their wickedness.

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Revelation 18:11-19 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore— 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves. 14 They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 "and cry out: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!"

  • "merchants" - sole focus was the love of money. First, the global apostate religion was destroyed, but now the system of commerce is destroyed.  They do not mourn for the Babylon, but for what they stand to lose. They would have had great status and pride in their position.

    • Jeremiah 51:13 "You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be destroyed."

    • Revelation 18:23 "...Your merchants were the world’s important people."

  • "cargoes" - the cargo list presents Babylon as a center of global luxury, trade, and exploitation. Whether the final city is to be identified with a particular modern region remains debated; the text’s main emphasis is its wealth, reach, and moral corruption. Many of these cargoes in modern times are in high demand in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.  Some have speculated that a future commercial center in this region could resemble the description of Babylon the Great (particularly cinnamon and citrus wood).

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Revelation 18:17-19 "17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’ ”

  • "sea captains / sailors" - the transport of cargo by water is still the predominate way to haul freight.  The cargoes listed are applicable to ports located in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman region.​

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Revelation 18:20-24 "20 Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you. 21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. 22 The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. 23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. 24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

  • "rejoice" - a call for praise and worship in the 3rd Heaven

  • "a boulder"

    • Jeremiah 51:59-64 "59 This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his reign. 60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. 61 He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62 Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. 64 Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people will fall.’”

    • Revelation 16:21 "From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible."

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Last updated: March 2026​

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