One could hardly find a stronger statement of biblical opposition to the world than is stated in Revelation 18. A simple reading of verses 2 and 4 would seem to urge Christians to adopt a very negative attitude toward the world. However, this attitude of opposition to worldly culture is not the only view in the Bible. In Philippians 4:8, Paul urged us to appreciate good things wherever we find them. The world was made good by God and was precious to Him as His own possession (Ps. 24:1).

The angel’s hostility is directed not to the physical earth but to sinful worldly culture. What God hates is Babylon as a symbol of the idol-worshiping, sensually perverse world system in rebellion to heaven. The world is not evil in itself but only in rebellion and sin. The most virulent atheist today, the most arrogantly seductive cultural harlot, and the most cynical abortion doctor all bear the stamp of the image of God. It was in this world that Jesus taught, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44).

In calling forth Babylon’s fall, the angel condemns the depravity of its condition in verse 2. This statement mirrors Isaiah’s prophecy that foretold Babylon’s complete desolation to the extent that “wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures…Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant places (Isa. 13:20-22). Revelation takes this same imagery to its ultimate extreme, saying that worldly Babylon will be haunted by demons, unclean spirits, and defiled beasts. This imagery of occupation by violent and unclean animals symbolizes what happens in a society whenever God is rejected.

The apostle Paul said in Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death,” including the death of any society that knowingly turns against God and falls under His judgment. The living death depicted in Babylon is caused by the reign of moral depravity in rebellion to God. First, Babylon is condemned for exporting a culture of sexual indulgence and perversion throughout the world (v. 3). This statement suggests that those who lead masses of people into sin will be especially accountable to God’s wrath.

Tyrannical governments rely on the sensual inducements of immorality to gain allegiance and strengthen their power. Furthermore, “the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living” (v. 3). The point is not to condemn honest gain from business but to oppose merchants and corporate titans who so worship money that they traffic in the poison of sin. The angel’s condemnation of Babylon warns both citizens engaged in public service and those engaged in private enterprise that God is keeping tabs on their practice, and will hold them especially to account for their promotion of sexual immorality and other abuses of their fellow man.

After the first angel’s rejoicing for fallen Babylon, another voice is heard from heaven that either belongs to God or certainly represents God. This voice is directed to John and his readers, who live in the very Babylon under judgment. Their call is both simple and urgent: “Come out of her, my people” (v. 4). So how do Christians obey the command, “Come out of her, my people”? The answer is given as the voice continues: “lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues” (v. 4). Christians need to avoid two dangers in relating to worldly Babylon” the danger of participating in its sin and the danger of suffering its judgment.

Separation from sin can be achieved only by a no to the world and a yes to God’s Word. So important is this principle of thinking and acting by God’s Word that it was Paul’s exhortation in the long book of Romans: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2).

The voice from heaven aids Christians in this calling by pointing out that Babylon’s “sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (v. 5). This statement warns us against taking a casual view of sin, especially in light of the Bible’s teaching about God’s mercy and grace (Heb. 8:12; 10:17). The sins that are so flagrantly discounted by a depraved society are each an infinite and eternal offense to the heart of the holy God.

Beyond the call to come out from the sinful ways of the Babylonian world, we may make three more specific applications, each of which is tied to the statements of judgment in verses 6-8.First, since the sinful world is destined for judgment, Christians should not invest our ultimate dreams or seek our true treasures in this world. Jesus taught, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.” We should not set our hearts on earthly things because they are inherently unstable. Even in this life, Jesus warned, moths and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal (Matt. 6:19-20). While we are in this world, we are bound to have a good many interests here. But those who know the grace and glory of Christ should hold Him as our highest treasure (Matt. 6:21). Our minds should be interested in the work of His church and of the gospel. And our chief interests should be those bound up with the kingdom of heaven.

Second, since this judgment reveals God’s hatred of the world’s sinful priorities, Christians should increasingly take the attitude that is pleasing to God and contrary to the spirit of the world. Some believers are reluctant to be different from the world because they fear being discovered as Christians. But what does this say about our commitment to the Lord? Seeing His response to Babylon’s arrogance and sins, we should cultivate instead the holy humility that characterized Jesus and pleases our God. God’s revulsion for the sinful world is vividly displayed in verse 7. Here, it is especially the self-glorifying attitude of the world that offends God. Similar attitudes are prevalent in secular society today; Christians should turn their hearts toward God in humility, using the things of the world in stewardship to Him.

Finally, Christians are always to remember the fate in store for the ungodly world in verse 8. Like the world that Noah departed before the flood that rose suddenly, and like Sodom, which fell in a day to the fire and brimstone crashing down from God, the entire world awaits a judgment that will utterly destroy everything that sinners hold dear. When judgment comes, there will be no escape for those who have rejected the gospel offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Why should you live differently from the world in sin? First, for God’s sake, then second for the world’s sake. Our world desperately needs the testimony of a lived Christianity that bears witness to the God of salvation, His judgment on sin, and the forgiveness He offers through the blood of Jesus Christ. This gives the most important answer to the question of Christianity and culture, as commanded by Jesus Himself: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20).

Revelation 18:1-8 Study Questions:

What message does the angel with great authority bring (vv. 2-3)?

As those who live in a society that places a high value on human achievement, what lessons might we learn from the fall of Babylon?

What specific judgments are pronounced on Babylon for her sin (vv. 6-8)?

How is this a just punishment for Babylon?

How do we discern the point at which a government or other worldly power passes from being a servant of God to putting itself in the place of God?

In what ways do we also need to “come out” from present-day “Babylons” with their corrupt systems, and separate ourselves from their ways?