1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.
This is a “vision of the fall of the mystic Babylon, expressed in magnificent imagery, taken mainly from the prophecies of the overthrow of Babylon and Tyre.” (Justin Edwards) The angel is “some excellent and worthy man..., such a one as should come suddenly before he be looked for, as those things do that slip down from heaven. - [the Coming of Jesus] ‘having great power- or authority; as having, in hand a great business, viz. the denouncing of Rome’s utter ruin... “ (John Trapp)
2 And he cried with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”
“He cried with a loud voice, so to awaken Babylon, that slept no less securely than that old Babylon, whose king Shesach was feasting and carousing in the bowls of the sanctuary, when the city was taken the same night. The people also did so little fear it, that it was three days after the city was taken by Cyrus ere some of them heard what was befallen them.” (John Trapp)
"'Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen' (2a) ; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground." (Isaiah 21:9) It applies to papal Rome and her pagan doctrines and practices.
“And has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!”(2b) “The meaning is that Babylon is abandoned, as a place utterly desolated and uninhabited, to be the abode of these unclean beings. Compare what is said of ancient Babylon, Isaiah 13:21-22; Jeremiah 50:39; and of Edom, Isaiah 34:11-15. From these passages the imagery is plainly taken.,,” (Justin Edwards), pointing out "the most complete destruction. A city utterly sacked and ruined, never to be rebuilt.” (Adam Clarke)
“Spiritual Babylon - papal Rome- will be reduced to a state of utter desolation resembling that of the real Babylon. It is not necessary to suppose this of the city of Rome itself - for that is not the object of the representation. It is the papacy, represented under the image of the city, and having its seat there.” (Albert Barnes) "'For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication'; that is, her fornications which have brought this wrath upon her. ‘And the kings of the earth have committed, etc.’ ; she hath not only herself committed idolatry, but allured others to it, teaching them to break the commandments of God, and hath influenced princes to establish, and propagate, and to uphold, and maintain it; and all sorts of men have been bewitched by her, growing rich by her abundance, and being drenched in her luxury.” (Matthew Poole)
4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached [heaped up] to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Render to her just as she rendered, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
"‘Come out of her, my people’ - These words appear to be taken from Isaiah 48:20; Jeremiah 1:8; Jeremiah 51:6, Jeremiah 51:45. The poet Mantuanus expresses this thought well: - ‘Ye who desire to live a godly life, depart; for, although all things are lawful at Rome, yet to be godly is unlawful.’” (Clarke) “Compare Jeremiah 51:6; Jeremiah 51:45. ‘Flee from the midst of Babylon, and every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He shall recompense her.’; ‘My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of Yahweh.’ To avoid communion with those who oppose the truth and persecute the people of God, is the only way to escape the ruin which awaits them.” (Justin Edwards)
“‘Her sins have reached unto heaven’- ‘We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country; for her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies.” (Jeremiah 51:9) Her sins “are become so great and enormous that the long-suffering of God must give place to his justice.” (Adam Clarke) “Reward her even as she rewarded”— “This God speaks to the executioners of His vengeance— ‘even as she hath rewarded others’— in particular, the saints of God. ‘And give her double’— this, according to the Hebrew idiom, implies only a full retaliation.” (John Wesley) Death for death.
“Therefore shall her plagues come” — double destruction. "Death, by the sword...; mourning on account of the slaughter; and famine, the fruits of the field being destroyed by the hostile bands.” (Clarke) “And she will be utterly burned with fire.”— again according to the Hebrew idiom, as “And Joshua said, ‘Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day.’ So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.” (Joshua 7:25) "expressive of the certainty, dreadfulness, and completeness of her ruin.” (Justin Edwards)
Come out of Papal Rome with her so-called bishops and priests. “Isaiah also declared that Babylon’s destruction would come ‘in one day’ (Isaiah 47:9). The description is typical of a besieged city, and the fate typical of ‘great cities’ through the ages - death, mourning, famine, then utterly burned with fire (compare ‘the smoke of her burning’ (v. 9; v. 18)).” (Peter Pett) Yet, today the door of mercy is still open for that blessed voice can still be heard saying, “Come out of her, My people!”
9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, “Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.
The kings of the earth- her laity- will stand afar off weeping for her, recalling “Genesis 19:28 which describes Abraham witnessing the smoke ascending from Sodom and Gomorrah, ‘like the smoke a furnace,’ as a sign of divine judgment on these two cities. [But he wept not.] The destruction of the cities in the valley is used by Old Testament prophets as the model of the fate of ancient Babylon: ‘Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms… will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah’ (Isa. 13:19). In describing the destruction of end-time Babylon, John employees the language in which Old Testament prophets foretold the fate of ancient Babylon.” (Ranko Stefanovic)
11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: 12 merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. 14 The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all.
“This description of the articles in which Babylon trafficked with the nations, and the lamentation of the kings and merchants of the earth over her fall, agrees in many respects with the prophecy of the overthrow of Tyre in Ezekiel, chaps Ezekiel 26:1-21; Ezekiel 27:1-35, which should be read in connection with it. We are not to insist on the particulars enumerated. The whole is a picture of her great wealth and the abundance of her resources.” (Justin Edwards)... or the loss thereof.
These are figurative merchants of the earth (Rev. 18:23; cf. Isa. 23:2)– "the commercial sales people of ‘the spiritual merchandise of Babylon, those who have sold her doctrines and policies to the kings of peoples of the earth.’” (Ranko Stefanovic) They mourn “because of their loss of profits.” (Bridgeway Commentary) “Notice twenty-eight things are mentioned by them. The first is gold and the last is the souls of men.” (Arno Gaebelein)… “in taking away the simple doctrine of faith in Christ's salvation and supplanting it with man-made doctrines, especially that of salvation by works, and in the delusion...” (Kretzmann's Popular Commentary) of the faith.
15 The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance 18 and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’ 19 “They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’
And these are figurative shipmasters, as well. “The figurative language here is borrowed from Ezekiel‘s vision of the fall of Tyre: ‘The sailors and all the pilots of the sea will come down from their ships; they will stand on the land, and they will make their voice heard over you; and will cry bitterly. They will cast dust on their heads; in their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you: ‘What city is like Tyre...?’ (Ezek. 27:29–32)“ (Ranko Stefanovic)
These lament. ““And well they may. For both at home and abroad, by sea and by land, wherever the whore’s influence extendeth, and her priests and people find the trade profitable, the loss of it in money matters must be ruinous… But one feature deserves to be noticed under all, namely, while they all bewail and lament her, it is said, that they all stood afar off. Here is a striking feature. Though sinners herd together in sin, yet in judgment, they wish to separate. No one helpeth his fellow. Like the first transgressor in the garden, they rather accuse than soften each other's crime. They stand afar off. Oh! the awful state of the ungodly.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”
She had accused God‘s faithful people and inducing the beast to destroy them and shed their blood. "By her fall, they have been avenged- they have been vindicated, they have been given justice by God's vengeance.” (Kretzmann's Popular Commentary) So rejoicing of heaven is commanded of the church in glory by her Lord... and the reason is enjoined: “‘For God has avenged you on her’ or ‘For God hath judged your judgment of her.’ This is the better rendering. The judgment which the saints pronounced on her is now executed.” (Arno Gaebelein) “For them the occasion is one of victory.” (Bridgeway Bible Commentary), as it was prophesied, “‘Then the heavens and the earth and all that is in them shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, declares the Lord. Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, as the slain of all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.” (Jeremiah 51:48–49)
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.
“And a mighty angel took up a stone, and threw it into the sea— “By a like emblem Jeremiah foreshowed the fall of the Chaldean Babylon, Jeremiah 51:63-64.” (John Wesley) “Seraiah was commissioned by Jeremiah to attach a stone to the book containing the prophet’s words and to cast it into the 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.’ Here an angel took up a millstone and cast it into the sea, showing by this action the complete and final destruction of the wicked system and the equally wicked city….” (Arno Gaebelein) and yea what of wicked man who did her deeds.
22 “The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore.
“It seems as if this city was to be swallowed up by an earthquake, or burnt up by fire from heaven.” (Adam Clarke) These have become extinct in her bounds:
“‘And the voice of harpers’ - Those who play on the harp. This was usually accompanied with singing. The idea, in this verse and the following, is substantially the same as in the previous parts of the chapter, that the mystical Babylon - papal Rome - would be brought to utter desolation… ‘And musicians’ - Musicians in general; but perhaps here singers, as distinguished from those who played on instruments. And of pipers - Those who played on pipes or flutes…
’And trumpeters’ - Trumpets were common instruments of music, employed on festival occasions, in war, and in worship…
‘Shall be heard no more at all in thee’ - It would become utterly and permanently desolate.
‘And no craftsman, of whatsoever craft’ - That is, artificers of all kinds would cease to ply their trades there. The word used here - τεχνίτης technitēs- would include all artisans or mechanics, all who were engaged in any kind of trade or craft. The meaning here is, that all these would disappear, an image, of course, of utter decay.
‘And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more’ - Taylor (Frag. to Calmet, Dictionary vol. iv. p. 346) supposes that this may refer not so much to the rattle of the mill as to the voice of singing, which usually accompanied grinding. The sound of a mill is cheerful, and indicates prosperity; its ceasing is an image of decline.” (Albert Barnes)
“The orientals grind their meal daily in hand-mills. The cessation of the sound of the millstone is therefore a sign of utter desolation.” (Justin Edwards) “‘Musicians,’ painters and sculptors, have desecrated their art to lend fascination to the sensuous worship of corrupt Christendom.” (Jameson Faussett, Brown) Moreover: “Her destruction is irremediable.” (Walter Scott) “The message from God was ‘Babylon the great city will be hurled down to destruction and shall never again be found.’... Man must never take personal vengeance. However, we can rest assured that God will avenge His persecuted people.” (Charles Box) “And because it was a final ruin, this enemy should never molest them any more; of this they were assured by a sign.” (Matthew Henry)
23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”
“The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore,” her wick being snuffed out by the High Priest, “for they that here love darkness better than light” (John Trapp) And the voice from heaven of the Bridegroom, nor the voice of the bride— of the church— shall be heard anymore in this place. For your so-called merchants or great men — “in allusion to the merchants of Tyre, said to be princes, Isaiah 23:8” (John Gill) — served to deceive all who became interested in spiritual matters and “by your sorcery” or “counterfeit miracles, and deceptive maneuvers of every kind” (Adam Clarke)
“The persecution of Christians by rulers or people, civil or ecclesiastical, even if in compliance with human laws, is never overlooked or forgotten by Jehovah. It is an aggravated sin, which in due time he will surely punish.” (Justin Edwards) The overthrow was already true of Babylon of old and pagan Rome— as well as Jerusalem, who Jesus wept over saying “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of Yahweh!’ [Psalm 118:26]” (Matthew 23:37-39)- even His Son.
After the resurrection of the wicked and their judgment, these members of an apostate church will die the second death, with no hope of eternal life.