The Bible Says
Revelation 18:1-3 Meaning

In Revelation 18:1-3, a new angel appears and begins to pronounce the doom of Babylon and the harlot, the global system of commerce. John describes this new angel:

After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory (v.1).

The phrase After these things connects this new angel’s appearance to the previous events in Revelation 17, where the downfall of the harlot riding the beast was foretold. It was described that the beast and his confederation of ten rulers would hate the harlot, who is Babylon, and annihilate her (Revelation 17:16).

This scene centers on a heavenly messenger, who is another angel. This is not the angel who engaged with John in Revelation 17 that was an angel who poured out one of the seven bowls of judgment (Revelation 17:1). This is another angel who is described as coming down from heaven. This would infer that the previous angel from Revelation 17 had transported John from heaven to earth to see the events and devastation that would take place.

Now, John sees this new angel descending from heaven. John says this angel is one having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory (v. 1). The Greek word translated glory is “doxa.” It refers to anything or anyone’s true essence being observed, whether good or bad. For instance, we see in 1 Corinthians 15:41 that the moon has a different glory than the sun because each as a different essence: one emanates light, the other reflects light. We see in Philippians 3:19 that the “glory” of some people is the “shame” of being controlled by their appetites.

The glory of this angel is revealed in his brightness. The entire earth was illuminated with his glory. The brightness of this angel might stem from his exposure to God in heaven, similar to Moses whose face radiated when he descended from the mountain after spending time with God (Exodus 34:29).

We are told that this angel has great authority. We can see this from the tone of great authority with which he makes a pronouncement of doom upon Babylon. That he descends from heaven would be another clue of his authority; he apparently serves in God’s presence and/or was dispatched by God for this purpose. Next, John tells us of the angel:

And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird” (v. 2).

This double announcement, “Fallen, fallen” (v.2), which is also found in Revelation 14:8, echoes Isaiah 21, a biblical prophecy that referred to ancient Babylon: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; And all the images of her gods are scattered on the ground” (Isaiah 21:9).

This event in Revelation 18 will serve as a double fulfillment of Isaiah 21:9. Multiple fulfillments of prophecy is the normal prophetic pattern.

Revelation 14:8 appears to speak in what can be called the “prophetic past,” when a future event is spoken of in past tense to demonstrate the certainty of its fulfillment: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality” (Revelation 14:8).

Babylon the harlot is not seen in John’s vision until Revelation 17, and yet she is spoken about in the past tense in Chapter 14. Now, here in Revelation 18, the pronouncement is a literal past tense. Babylon has fallen in the vision and the angel will describe the consequence of its fall.

It seems this angel is not only concerned with the demise of Babylon the great and the harlot that is the global commercial system. He is also concerned with a spiritual fallenness:

• She has become a dwelling place of demons
• and a prison of every unclean spirit,
• and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.

That Babylon has become a dwelling place of demons indicates that the global commercial enterprise is under demonic influence. There is no apparent countervailing force for good. Evil has become dominant. We see in scripture that there is a spiritual kingdom that overlays the physical realm, in which there is an interplay between angels (good spiritual beings) and demons (bad spiritual beings). We also can observe that the prayers and actions of righteous people places limits on the power of evil.

An example of interplay between the spiritual and physical realms is from Daniel 10:12-14. In that passage, Daniel set his heart to understand, his words were heard, and then God dispatched an angel to provide Daniel an answer. However, the angel that was dispatched to instruct him was delayed for twenty-one days by a demonic agent called the “prince of the kingdom of Persia.” Another example of interplay between heaven and earth is from Revelation 2:13, where the Roman city of Pergamum is said to be “where the throne of Satan dwells.”

In Revelation 2:16, Jesus exhorts the believers in Pergamum to repent, or He will come and clean up the mess Himself. This infers that righteous living of the saints restrains evil; Jesus would not need to come clean up the mess if believers were living faithfully. This reflects that the assigned responsibility of believers is to serve as salt and light by living as faithful witnesses. This responsibility will be part of Christ’s judgment of believers for deeds done while living on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10).

The use of “salt” and “light” to describe the impact believers have in preserving the earth when they live as faithful witnesses also indicates that a very small amount preserves the whole. A small dash of salt preserves the entire carcass, and a small point of light defeats the darkness. In each case, the presence of salt or light is a very small percentage of the volume, but it substantially alters the outcome.

2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 infers that the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit will be removed to pave the way for the beast, who is called “that lawless one.” It might be that the catching up of believers to meet the Lord in the air referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 will also be the occasion where the Holy Spirit’s restraining influence is removed. If so, that would fit with the preserving influence of faithful believers. It may be that the Holy Spirit largely works through believers, who serve as salt and light, to conduct His restraining ministry.

It seems that the phrase dwelling place of demons indicates a complete absence of righteous influence. Since a small amount of salt preserves a slab of meat and a small point of light pushes back the darkness, we can infer that there is no salt or light present in this global commercial system. The Greek word “katoiketerion” is translated dwelling place in the phrase dwelling place of demons. This same word is used in Ephesians:

“in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling [‘katoiketerion’] of God in the Spirit.”
(Ephesians 2:22)

It seems that just as God’s Spirit dwells on earth through His people—believers in whom the Holy Spirit indwells—so does a demonic presence dwell on earth through the wicked commercial system called Babylon.

Babylon has also become a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird (v. 2). The Greek word “phylake” is translated prison in reference to both every unclean spirit as well as every unclean and hateful bird. “Phylake” is translated in NASV 95 both as prison and as “watch”—as in Luke 2:8, when the shepherds were keeping “watch” (“phylake”) over their flocks by night.

In this instance, the sense of “watch” would have a better connotation for “phylake” than the translated prison. As we see in Revelation 19:17 and 19:21, the angel of God calls the birds (same Greek word as 18:2) to come and fill themselves with the flesh of the dead soldiers of the beast’s army. They are asked to come and “watch” the battle and wait for the appearance of dead bodies to fill their bellies.

Carrion birds are unclean according to Jewish law (see Leviticus 11:13-19). That these vulture birds are on watch, perhaps circling, would provide a picture of death. Babylon is full of death which means it is full of sin (Romans 6:23). This would be a fitting companion with the idea that Babylon is full of every unclean spirit. Perhaps the unclean carrion birds are also called hateful because they are a sign of death—we can think of buzzards circling.

Such a vivid description of spiritual and moral decay is reminiscent of the warnings Jesus gave about spiritual emptiness (Matthew 12:43–45). When a culture empties itself of God’s truth and welcomes deceit, evil inevitably takes root. In Revelation 18:2, John paints a picture of severely adverse spiritual ramifications for a culture of sin.

Babylon, the global commercial enterprise, is an abode of spiritual darkness. The spiritual darkness leads to destruction. In this case, God uses the great irony that darkness defeats darkness, since the beast and his companions are the source of the commercial system’s destruction (Revelation 17:16).

Next, the passage presents the cause behind the judgment of Babylon, who is given the devastating sentence of being “Fallen, fallen.” The angel proclaims:

For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality (v.3).

The key perpetrators of Babylon’s sin is a trio of actors: the nations, the kings, and the merchants. All have participated in or benefited from her corrupt system. This worldwide entanglement is called Babylon’s immorality.  We can infer that this immorality is similar to the immorality of ancient Egypt and Canaan, which were pagan nations with similar behaviors.

In Leviticus 18 we see a list of behaviors Israel is told not to emulate. They are told to avoid the immoral behaviors they saw in Egypt, as well as those they will see when they enter Canaan. They are the same. The immoral behaviors can generally be described as the strong exploiting the weak and extracting from others for their own perceived gain.

This includes a collection of sexual engagements that violate God’s design for marriage, including incest and sex with animals. And perhaps the crowning evil is the taking of human life—the sacrifice of children. In many cases, these pagan practices were morally justified through pagan religious practice.

The underlying sin is described as wine of the passion of her immorality. The Greek word here used for passion is translated as “wrath” in Revelation 16:19, in the phrase “Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.” This tells us that immorality leads to wrath.

Scripture presents a number of ways in which sin leads to wrath. For one, sin leads to wrath against ourselves. Romans 1:24, 26, 28 asserts that sin leads to a steady progression of self-destruction. Lust leads to addiction, which leads to loss of mental health (a “depraved mind”). James 1:14-15 asserts that the source of our temptation is from our own sinful nature. Sin is conceived, gives birth, and then grows up and becomes death.

Another way in which sin leads to wrath is in violence of one upon the other. God destroyed the earth with a flood because it had filled with violence (Genesis 6:11). This kind of immorality breeds a culture of destruction. Revelation 18:13 includes “human lives” as one of the commodities traded in the commercial system called the harlot and Babylon. This infers exploitation of others for profit, extracting twisted pleasures from the pain of others—another instance of the wrath of immorality.

A third manner in which immorality leads to wrath is that sin leads to the wrath of God. A few verses that indicate this follow:

• Romans 2:5, which says by living in sin and failing to repent people, are “storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”
  
  
• Romans 13:4, where God appoints the human agency of government to execute “wrath” as His instrument in order to deter evil.
• Here in Revelation 17-18, where the wrath of God is poured out in judgment upon the earth.

That the nations have drunk from Babylon’s cup that is the wine of the passion of her immorality recalls Jeremiah 51:7, which says:

“Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the LORD,
Intoxicating all the earth.
The nations have drunk of her wine;
Therefore the nations are going mad.
Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
Wail over her!
Bring balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.”
(Jeremiah 51:7-8)

We see here in Jeremiah that ancient Babylon “has fallen and been broken” because of her immorality that is intoxicating all the earth. Similarly to the merchants and kings in Revelation 17, the Jeremiah passage exhorts the nations to “Wail over her.” One way in which ancient Babylon was immoral was in its cruelty and exploitation of other nations and peoples. That the “lives of men” are included in the wares of Babylon the great, who is the harlot, the future Babylon, suggests that the global commercial system during the great tribulation will be similarly corrupt and abusive.

We see again that ancient Babylon serves as a foreshadowing of this global commercial and political system (the harlot and Babylon of Revelation) that will expand to the ends of the earth in the last days. However, now the beast has been used as God’s instrument to destroy this corrupt system.

There are those who profit from the system, and it is these who weep. These are the kings of the earth who have committed acts of immorality by forming alliances with Babylon, who is the harlot. Generally speaking, commercial interests are limited in their capacity to exploit customers without forming an alliance with government. It is inferred that in this Babylon, business and governments have aligned to share mutual benefit from their exploitation of the population.

The kings of the earth have aligned themselves with commercial Babylon to gain power and profit. They do this while trampling on God’s people and His moral standards. It appears here the alliance and the resulting corruption is global.

Also, the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality (v. 3). The merchants of the earth are not just benefitting from this corrupt system that is in league with the earth’s governments—they are becoming fabulously wealthy; they are rich. The source of this material wealth is the wealth of her sensuality. Both the kings and the merchants are gaining great profits from this system. But it will all be destroyed.

The pronoun her refers to the harlot, who is also Babylon. The harlot is the commercial system of commerce which generates the abundance or wealth of the sensuality. The Greek word translated sensuality can also be rendered as “delicacies” or “luxuries.” The sense of the phrase wealth of her sensuality seems to be an abundance of indulgences. Given that “human lives” and “slaves” are part of the merchants’ wares, it would seem that the trafficking of humans is a material part of their trade of sensuality.

That the commercial system is depicted as a harlot might also indicate that this commercial system thrives on the exploitation of women and children. This is consistent with the pagan practices we saw depicted in Leviticus 18. The descriptive words indicate a global economy based on exploitation, deception, and unbridled passions.

Jesus spoke about the danger of gaining the world while forfeiting one’s soul (Mark 8:36). Here, as Babylon’s merchants have increased in material wealth, they simultaneously increased in guilt. God’s design for the earth is for it to be ruled by servant leaders, like Jesus, who stands for righteousness while seeking the best for others (Matthew 20:28). The kings and merchants have twisted God’s design and created the opposite. Rather than the strong serving the weak they abuse and exploit.

We saw in Revelation 17:3 that the harlot was sitting on the beast, indicating a position of dominance. We are told the beast and his alliance of ten kings come to hate this commercial system and decide to destroy it with “fire” (Revelation 17:16). It might be that the beast considers the alliance of the commercial system with the kings to provide limits on his power. Since the beast clearly desires to gain absolute rule, it would make sense that he would destroy any possible obstacle to gaining absolute tyranny.

We know that Satan’s goal was to displace God and reign over the universe (Isaiah 14:12-14). We saw in Revelation 12:12 that Satan was cast out of heaven and confined to the earth. It seems that now he has set his sights on absolute control over the earth. But his total demise lies just ahead (Revelation 20:1-2).

We might note that even though the beast destroys a system that is occupied by demonic forces, the frog demons still did his bidding to gather the nations together to battle against the Lamb (Revelation 16:13-14). The beast is now abusing the kings who are under his power, as we see from Revelation 18:9, when the kings lament the destruction of Babylon. That they still show up to his battle against the Lamb infers that in his move to destroy the harlot and Babylon, he retains or gains the power to command the kings to do his bidding and go to war.

Believers are wise to recognize the peril of being swept into systems that oppose God. Babylon’s fall serves both as a warning and an invitation: a warning that unrighteous power structures are doomed, and an invitation to “come out of her” (Revelation 18:4)—to live by God’s ways of truth and righteousness rather than by the world’s corrupt commerce and compromise.