Revelation 18

18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was made bright with his splendor. 2And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! It has become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt of every foul spirit, a haunt of every foul and hateful bird; 3for all nations have drunk the wine of her impure passion, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich with the wealth of her wantonness."

The dirges sung over Babylon the great are drawn from the prophetic indictments against proud cities, especially Jeremiah 50-51; Ezekiel 26-28; and Isaiah 47.

4Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; 5for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6Render to her as she herself has rendered, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double draught for her in the cup she mixed. 7As she glorified herself and played the wanton, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning. Since in her heart she says, 'A queen I sit, I am no widow, mourning I shall never see,' 8so shall her plagues come in a single day, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she shall be burned with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who judges her."

When Rome invaded and destroyed Jerusalem, no Christians were harmed, because they had come out of her, as Jesus had instructed them in Matthew 24:15-22.

9And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and were wanton with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning; 10they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

Alas! alas! thou great city,
thou mighty city, Babylon!
In one hour has thy judgment come.

11And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo any more, 12cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.
14"The fruit for which thy soul longed has gone from thee, and all thy dainties and thy splendor are lost to thee, never to be found again!"
15The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

16Alas, alas, for the great city
that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet,
bedecked with gold, with jewels, and with pearls!
17In one hour all this wealth has been laid waste.

And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, "What city was like the great city?" 19And they threw dust on their heads, as they wept and mourned, crying out,

Alas, alas, for the great city
where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
In one hour she has been laid waste.

Fascinatingly, her once-allies and consorts stand afar off, mourning, not so much for her, but for the loss of her wealth and power that they participated in.

20"Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!"

We are instructed to rejoice in her judgement, because God has judged truly and righteously. The evil that she has done against the saints has been requited, and God has displayed His justice.

21Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

So shall Babylon the great city
be thrown down with violence,
and shall be found no more;
22and the sound of harpers and minstrels,
of flute players and trumpeters,
shall be heard in thee no more;
and a craftsman of any craft shall be found in thee no more;
and the sound of the millstone shall be heard in thee no more;
23and the light of a lamp shall shine in thee no more;
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
shall be heard in thee no more;
for thy merchants were the great men of the earth,
and all nations were deceived by thy sorcery.
24And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of all who have been slain on earth.

Jerusalem, Babylon the great city has been judged for her treason against God's covenants and the killings of the prophets and the saints. God uses the very beast she has ridden and allied herself with, to bring about her ruin. The beast, though, continues its persecutions of God's people, and finally comes to wage war against Christ Himself, and it too will be destroyed.

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