In Revelation 18 John presents a perspective of the fall of the great world city Babylon the great that is molded on Ezekiel’s lament for the city of Tyre (Ezek. 26-27). Revelation 18 imitates this lament, featuring the kings, merchants, and seafarers whose alliance with wicked Babylon is ended by God’s judgment. This scene of despair is contrasted at the end with the rejoicing of heaven and the people of God.

When John wrote the book of Revelation, the city of Babylon had long since been destroyed. Babylon symbolized imperial Rome, the powerful and decadent city that dominated the first-century Mediterranean world. Rome itself was symbolic, standing along with Babylon as a symbol of the satanic realm of secularism in idolatrous opposition to God. Her judgment is lamented in these verses by those who had feasted from her table.

The first to lament Babylon’s fall are “the kings of the earth” (v. 9). These are the client princes who relied on the empire for their prestige and power, including the rulers in the province of Asia, where John’s churches were located. These rulers had embraced the corruption of Rome so as to gain power from her. The kings lamented Rome’s greatness and might in verse 10. With the great city fallen, they grieve not for her but for their lost patronage.

The second mourners are the merchants, who grieve over losing the great market for their luxurious products (v. 11). Historians describe the staggering amount of trade that flowed into Rome. People compare today’s Western decadence with that of ancient Rome, but there is no comparison. The citizens of Rome led lives of spectacular wealth and stunning opulence. The riches of the ancient world were poured into the lap of Rome. Against this backdrop, we are not surprised at the wealthy cargo that the merchants lament as lost in verses 12-13. If the rulers valued power, the merchants loved splendor and beauty (v. 14). Verse 16 views the great city as a sumptuously beautiful woman dressed in the most alluring clothes and the richest jewelry.

The third group of mourners consists of the seafarers, whose ships carried the merchants’ cargo (vv. 17-18). The ship captains and their crews see from afar the smoke of the great burning city. Unlike the kings, who sought power from Rome, and the merchants, who relished the luxurious living of Rome, the shipmasters care only for the money they made from Rome (v. 19). There will be no further chance for them to get rich quick and make such lavish profits. Contrary to Jesus’ advice in the Sermon on the Mount, they had stored up treasure on earth, rather than in heaven, and the time had now come when all their riches would be lost (Matt. 6:19-20). In the judgment of the Babylonian world system, those whose hearts are fixed to the things of the world will suffer total loss.

The lament of the kings, merchants, and seafarers is not the only perspective on the fall of mighty Babylon. Verse 20 interrupts with the voice of John’s angel-interpreter: “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!” In dramatizing Babylon’s fall, John leaves us in no doubt that this was God’s doing.

Now, as John looks to the end of history when the Babylonian world system will come under judgment, “a mighty angel” appears with “a stone like a great millstone” (v. 21). The great millstone crashes into the water and sinks to the bottom of the deepest sea. This symbolizes the utter ruin of the evil world, which perishes forever because of idolatry and sin. The angel follows up this symbolic gesture with a eulogy recounting the judgment befalling every aspect of Babylonian life. In verses 21-23 he intones the words “no more” six times. Babylon herself “will be found no more.” With her fall the sound of music, the busy noise of craftsmen, and the clanging sounds of daily industry “will be heard in you no more (. 22).

There are three lessons we can learn from Babylon’s judgment and fall. The first is that Christians must learn how to use the things of the world rightly, enjoying God’s good gifts without falling into the world’s idolatry. Just as the kings, merchants, and seafarers stood far off from Babylon in fear, Christians must keep distance from the materialism that characterizes Babylon’s spirit. Christians are perfectly free to enjoy good things in the world and even to appreciate luxuries, so long as we do so in gratitude to God and with generosity toward those in need.

A second lesson from this passage is that we should never doubt the certainty of God’s judgment on the wicked. Long years after John recorded this vision, it seemed to many that Rome would never fall but would endure forever. Yet the day came, in A.D. 410, when the Visigoth chieftain Alaric overran and sacked the city of Rome, bringing the empire to an end. Many Christians were utterly dismayed in the insecurity of the moment, just as many Christians today tremble for the collapse of Western society.

Finally, Christians should realize that in the midst of this very world, with its history moving forward to certain judgment, Christ is building His church that will endure eternally in glory. Jesus promised, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). These judgments display God’s sovereignty and power. Those same almighty attributes ensure that the work He is doing now in our midst through the gospel is certain to succeed. Knowing this, we labor in the world for eternity. We seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, as Jesus said, confident that all other things will be given to us with Him (Matt. 6:33).

Revelation 18:9-24 Study Questions:

How do the kings and merchants of the earth react to the fall of Babylon (vv. 9-11)?

In verses 12-13, John builds up a marvelous catalog of luxury goods as well as basics of trade – flour, wheat, cattle and so on. But what horror do we find at the end of this list?

How does the final item of “cargo” reveal the depth of Babylon’s wickedness (vv. 12-14)?

What prophetic act does the mighty angel perform to indicate judgment on Babylon’s violence (v. 21)?

Babylon is a city founded on violence; not only the blood of the martyrs. Babylon has been at the center of a network of violence that spanned the world, and all who have been slaughtered on earth have, in a sense, been slaughtered at the behest of Babylon. Where do we see violence of Babylon revealed in our own society?

How might we live in a way that opposes this violence?